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Confederate monuments and memorials
Confederate monuments and memorials
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Confederate monuments and memorials in the United States include public displays and symbols of the Confederate States of America (CSA), Confederate leaders, or Confederate soldiers of the American Civil War. Many monuments and memorials have been or will be removed under great controversy. Part of the commemoration of the American Civil War, these symbols include monuments and statues, flags, holidays and other observances, and the names of schools, roads, parks, bridges, buildings, counties, cities, lakes, dams, military bases, and other public structures. In a December 2018 special report, Smithsonian Magazine stated, "over the past ten years, taxpayers have directed at least $40 million to Confederate monuments—statues, homes, parks, museums, libraries, and cemeteries—and to Confederate heritage organizations."[1]

This entry does not include commemorations of pre-Civil War figures connected with the origins of the Civil War but not directly tied to the Confederacy, such as Supreme Court Justice Roger B. Taney, congressman Preston Brooks, North Carolina Chief Justice Thomas Ruffin,[2] or Vice President John C. Calhoun, although monuments to Calhoun "have been the most consistent targets" of vandals.[3]

Monuments and memorials are listed alphabetically by state, and by city within each state. States not listed have no known qualifying items for the list.[4]

History

[edit]

Monument building and dedications

[edit]

Memorials have been erected on public spaces (including on courthouse grounds) either at public expense or funded by private organizations and donors. Numerous private memorials have also been erected.

Chart of public symbols of the Confederacy and its leaders as surveyed by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), by year of establishment. Most of these were put up either during the Jim Crow era or during the Civil Rights Movement.[a] These two periods also coincided with the 50th and 100th anniversaries of the Civil War.[b][6]

According to Smithsonian Magazine, "Confederate monuments aren't just heirlooms, the artifacts of a bygone era. Instead, American taxpayers are still heavily investing in these tributes today."[1] The report also concluded that the monuments were constructed and are regularly maintained in promotion of the Lost Cause, white supremacist mythology, and over the many decades of their establishment, African American leaders regularly protested these memorials and what they represented.[1]

A small number of memorializations were made during the war, mainly as ship and place names. After the war, Robert E. Lee said on several occasions that he was opposed to any monuments, as they would, in his opinion, "keep open the sores of war".[7][8] Nevertheless, monuments and memorials continued to be dedicated shortly after the American Civil War.[9] Before 1890, most were erected in cemeteries as memorials to soldiers who died in the war.[10] Many more monuments were dedicated in the years after 1890, when Congress established the first National Military Park at Chickamauga and Chattanooga, and by the turn of the 20th century, five battlefields from the Civil War had been preserved: Chickamauga-Chattanooga, Antietam, Gettysburg, Shiloh, and Vicksburg. At Vicksburg National Military Park, more than 95% of the park's monuments were erected in the first eighteen years after the park was established in 1899.[11] But monuments began appearing in public places with the emergence of the Jim Crow South, coinciding with the nadir of American race relations.[10]

Jim Crow

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Confederate monument-building has often been part of widespread campaigns to promote and justify Jim Crow laws in the South.[12][13] According to the American Historical Association (AHA), the erection of Confederate monuments during the early 20th century was "part and parcel of the initiation of legally mandated segregation and widespread disenfranchisement across the South." According to the AHA, memorials to the Confederacy erected during this period "were intended, in part, to obscure the terrorism required to overthrow Reconstruction, and to intimidate African Americans politically and isolate them from the mainstream of public life." A later wave of monument building coincided with the civil rights movement, and according to the AHA "these symbols of white supremacy are still being invoked for similar purposes."[14] According to Smithsonian Magazine, "far from simply being markers of historic events and people, as proponents argue, these memorials were created and funded by Jim Crow governments to pay homage to a slave-owning society and to serve as blunt assertions of dominance over African-Americans."[1]

Confederate Soldier Statue, in Monroe County, West Virginia, 2016

According to historian Jane Dailey from the University of Chicago, in many cases, the purpose of the monuments was not to celebrate the past but rather to promote a "white supremacist future".[15] Another historian, Karen L. Cox, from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, has written that the monuments are "a legacy of the brutally racist Jim Crow era", and that "the whole point of Confederate monuments is to celebrate white supremacy".[13] Another historian from UNC, James Leloudis, stated that "The funders and backers of these monuments are very explicit that they are requiring a political education and a legitimacy for the Jim Crow era and the right of white men to rule."[16] They were erected without the consent or even input of Southern African Americans, who remembered the Civil War far differently, and who had no interest in honoring those who fought to keep them enslaved.[17] According to Civil War historian Judith Giesberg, professor of history at Villanova University, "White supremacy is really what these statues represent."[18] Some monuments were also meant to beautify cities as part of the City Beautiful movement, although this was secondary.[19]

In a June 2018 speech, Civil War historian James I. Robertson Jr. of Virginia Tech said the monuments were not a "Jim Crow signal of defiance" and referred to the current trend to dismantle or destroy them as an "age of idiocy" motivated by "elements hell-bent on tearing apart unity that generations of Americans have painfully constructed."[20] Katrina Dunn Johnson, Curator of the South Carolina Confederate Relic Room and Military Museum, states that "thousands of families throughout the country were unable to reclaim their soldier's remains--many never learned their loved ones' exact fate on the battlefield or within the prison camps. The psychological impact of such a devastating loss cannot be underestimated when attempting to understand the primary motivations behind Southern memorialization."[21]

Many Confederate monuments were dedicated in the former Confederate states and border states in the decades following the Civil War, in many instances by Ladies Memorial Associations, United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC), United Confederate Veterans (UCV), Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV), the Heritage Preservation Association, and other memorial organizations.[22][23][24] Other Confederate monuments are located on Civil War battlefields. Many Confederate monuments are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, either separately or as contributing objects within listings of courthouses or historic districts. Art historians Cynthia Mills and Pamela Simpson argued, in Monuments to the Lost Cause, that the majority of Confederate monuments, of the type they define, were "commissioned by white women, in hope of preserving a positive vision of antebellum life."[25][26]

In the late nineteenth century, technological innovations in the granite and bronze industries helped reduce costs and made monuments more affordable for small towns. Companies looking to capitalize on this opportunity often sold nearly identical copies of monuments to both the North and South.[27]

Another wave of monument construction coincided with the Civil Rights Movement and the American Civil War Centennial. At least thirty-two Confederate monuments were dedicated between 2000 and 2017, including at least 7 re-dedications.[28][29][30][31]

Scholarly study

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Scholarly studies of the monuments began in the 1980s. In 1983 John J. Winberry published a study which was based on data from the work of R.W. Widener.[32][33] He estimated that the main building period for monuments was from 1889 to 1929 and that of the monuments erected in courthouse squares over half were built between 1902 and 1912. He determined four main locations for monuments; battlefields, cemeteries, county courthouse grounds, and state capitol grounds. Over a third of the courthouse monuments were dedicated to the dead. The majority of the cemetery monuments in his study were built in the pre-1900 period, while most of the courthouse monuments were erected after 1900. Of the 666 monuments in his study 55% were of Confederate soldiers, while 28% were obelisks. Soldiers dominated courthouse grounds, while obelisks account for nearly half of cemetery monuments. The idea that the soldier statues always faced north was found to be untrue and that the soldiers usually faced the same direction as the courthouse. He noted that the monuments were "remarkably diverse" with "only a few instances of repetition of inscriptions".[33]

The Confederate Memorial in Fulton, Kentucky is listed on the National Register of Historic Places

He categorized the monuments into four types. Type 1 was a Confederate soldier on a column with his weapon at parade rest, or weaponless and gazing into the distance. These accounted for approximately half the monuments studied. They are, however, the most popular among the courthouse monuments. Type 2 was a Confederate soldier on a column with rifle ready, or carrying a flag or bugle. Type 3 was an obelisk, often covered with drapery and bearing cannonballs or an urn. This type was 28% of the monuments studied, but 48% of the monuments in cemeteries and 18% of courthouse monuments. Type 4 was a miscellaneous group, including arches, standing stones, plaques, fountains, etc. These account for 17% of the monuments studied.[33]

Over a third of the courthouse monuments were specifically dedicated to the Confederate dead. The first courthouse monument was erected in Bolivar, Tennessee, in 1867. By 1880 nine courthouse monuments had been erected. Winberry noted two centers of courthouse monuments: the Potomac counties of Virginia, from which the tradition spread to North Carolina, and a larger area covering Georgia, South Carolina and northern Florida. The diffusion of courthouse monuments was aided by organizations such as the United Confederate Veterans and their publications, though other factors may also have been effective.[33]

Winberry listed four reasons for the shift from cemeteries to courthouses. First was the need to preserve the memory of the Confederate dead and also recognize the veterans who returned. Second was to celebrate the rebuilding of the South after the war. Third was the romanticizing of the Lost Cause, and the fourth was to unify the white population in a common heritage against the interests of African-American Southerners. He concluded: "No one of these four possible explanations for the Confederate monument is adequate or complete in itself. The monument is a symbol, but whether it was a memory of the past, a celebration of the present, or a portent of the future remains a difficult question to answer; monuments and symbols can be complicated and sometimes indecipherable."[33]

The Monument Movement

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The Monument Movement was a national movement of the late 19th and early 20th century. The Union and Confederate monuments were erected as community memorials. In the North and South communities came together in the time of war, contributing their men and boys (and a few documented women), then they came together again to memorialize these soldiers and their contributions to the cause as they saw it. Citizens paid subscriptions to memorials, for monument associations, taxes were issued, the GAR, Allied Orders, the United Daughters of the Confederacy, and the United Confederate Veterans all lead fundraisers.[34]

The monument to Confederate Colonel Francis S. Bartow was erected after First Manassas but was destroyed before or during Second Manassas. The other early monuments were Union monuments at Battle of Rowlett's Station in Munfordville, Kentucky in January 1862 for the men of the 32nd Indiana killed. It was removed for its own protection from the elements in 2008.[35] Other early Union monuments before the war ended were the Hazen Brigade Monument in Murfreesboro and the 1865 Ladd and Whitney Monument in Lowell, Massachusetts.[36][37][38]

The Northern memorials recorded in the survey work to date lists 11 monuments erected before 1866 including the previously mentioned monuments. Another ten monuments were documented in 1866, and 11 more in 1867 by the time the first post-war Confederate monuments were erected in Romney, Hampshire County, West Virginia and Chester, Chester County, South Carolina in 1867.[34]

Blevins' "Forever in Mourning" Chart of Union and Confederate Monuments, 1860–1920

In addition to monuments to the Union and Confederate honorees, the Monument Movement saw the placement of Revolutionary War Monuments for the 100th of the American Revolution from 1876 to 1883. In the W.H. Mullins Company catalog, The Blue and the Gray, it notes with Union and Confederate Monuments the company's recent installments of monuments for the Revolutionary War at Guilford Courthouse, North Carolina.[39]

Vandalism

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As of June 19, over 12 Confederate monuments had been vandalized in 2019, usually with paint.[40][41][needs update]

Removal

[edit]
The Confederate Monument to Robert E. Lee was removed from its pedestal in Lee Circle in New Orleans on May 17, 2017

As of April 2017, at least 60 symbols of the Confederacy had been removed or renamed since 2015, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC).[42] At the same time, laws in various Southern states place restrictions on, or prohibit altogether, the removal of statues and memorials and the renaming of parks, roads, and schools.[43][44][45][46][47]

A 2017 Reuters poll found that 54% of adults stated that the monuments should remain in all public spaces, and 27% said they should be removed, while 19% said they were unsure. The results were split along racial and political lines, with whites and Republicans preferring to keep the monuments in place, while Black Americans and Democrats were more likely to support their removal.[48][49] A similar 2017 poll by HuffPost/YouGov found that one-third of respondents favored removal, while 49% were opposed.[50][51]

Support for removal increased during the George Floyd protests, with 52% in favor of removal, and 44% opposed.[52][53]

Time period Number of removals[54]
1865–2009 2
2009–2014 3
2015 (after Charleston church shooting) 4
2016 4
2017 (year of the Charlottesville car attack) 36
2018 8
2019 4
2020 (after murder of George Floyd) 94[55]
2021 16

Geographic distribution

[edit]

Confederate monuments are widely distributed across the southern United States with a few dozen scattered throughout the border states and several hundred at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.[33] The distribution pattern follows the general political boundaries of the Confederacy.[33] Of the more than 1503 public monuments and memorials to the Confederacy, more than 718 are monuments and statues. Nearly 300 monuments and statues are in Georgia, Virginia, or North Carolina. The western states that were largely settled after the Civil War have few or no memorials to the Confederacy.

National

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United States Capitol

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There are six Confederate figures in the National Statuary Hall Collection, in the United States Capitol.

In the National Statuary Hall Collection, housed inside the United States Capitol, each state has provided statues of two citizens that the state wants to honor. Six Confederate figures are among them. The dates listed below reflect when each statue was given to the collection:[56][57]

In addition to these pieces, four additional sculptures of Confederate figures have been removed since the turn of the 21st century.

Arlington National Cemetery

[edit]
Confederate Memorial, Arlington National Cemetery
The NPS describes the property as "the nation's memorial to Robert E. Lee. It honors him for specific reasons, including his role in promoting peace and reunion after the Civil War. In a larger sense it exists as a place of study and contemplation of the meaning of some of the most difficult aspects of American History: military service; sacrifice; citizenship; duty; loyalty; slavery and freedom."[73]

Coins and stamps

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  • Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson were portrayed by the US Mint on the 1925 Commemorative silver US half dollar, along with the words "Stone Mountain". The coin was a fundraiser for the Stone Mountain monument, which honors the Confederate Generals. The authorized issue was 5 million coins, to be sold at $1 each, but that proved overly optimistic and only 1.3 million coins were released, many of which ended up in circulation after being spent for face value.[76] The caption on the reverse reads "Memorial to the valor of the soldier of the South".
  • Robert E. Lee has been commemorated on at least five US postage stamps. One 1936–37 stamp featured Generals Lee and Stonewall Jackson with Lee's home Stratford Hall.[77]

US military

[edit]

Bases

[edit]

Prior to 2023, there were nine major U.S. military bases named in honor of Confederate military leaders, all in former Confederate states. Following nationwide protests over the murder of George Floyd by a police officer, the United States Congress in 2021 created The Naming Commission in order to rename military assets with names associated with the Confederacy.[78] The United States Secretary of Defense was required to implement a plan developed by the commission and to "remove all names, symbols, displays, monuments, and paraphernalia that honor or commemorate the Confederate States of America or any person who served voluntarily with the Confederate States of America from all assets of the Department of Defense" within three years of the commission's creation.[79][80]

By October 2023, all nine bases had officially been redesignated under new names proposed by the commission.

Facilities

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  • Lee Barracks, named for CSA Gen. Robert E. Lee (1962), at U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York.[91]
  • U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland:
    • Buchanan House, the Naval Academy superintendent's home, named for CSA naval officer Franklin Buchanan.[92] A road near the house is also memorialized in Buchanan's name.
    • Maury Hall, home to the academy's division of Weapons and Systems Engineering, named for US naval officer in charge of the Depot of Charts and Instruments at Washington and later CSA naval officer Matthew Fontaine Maury.[92][93]

Current ships

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Former ships

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Several ships named for Confederate leaders fell into Union hands during the Civil War. The Union Navy retained the names of these ships while turning their guns against the Confederacy:

Multi-state highways

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On October 16, 2018, the Board of Commissioners of Orange County, North Carolina (location of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, see Silent Sam), voted unanimously to repeal the county's 1959 resolution naming for Davis the portion of U.S. 15 running through the county.[96]

Alabama

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As of 24 June 2020, there are at least 122 public spaces with Confederate monuments in Alabama.

Alaska

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  • Yukon–Koyukuk Census Area: "Confederate Gulch"[97] and "Union Gulch" both drain the side of a mineralized mountain mass northeast of Wiseman. Gold was discovered in both gulches in the early 20th century, though only Union Gulch was mined.[98]

Arizona

[edit]

As of 20 August 2020, only two Confederate related plaques on public property remain in Phoenix and Sierra Vista, Arizona.

Type of monument Date Location Details Image
Public 2010 Sierra Vista Confederate Memorial, Historical Soldiers Memorial Cemetery area of the state-owned Southern Arizona Veterans' Memorial Cemetery. The monument was erected in to honor the 21 soldiers interred in that cemetery who served in the Confederate Army during the Civil War and later fought in Indian wars in Arizona as members of the U.S. Army.[99][100]
Private 1999 Phoenix Arizona Confederate Veterans Monument, at Greenwood Memory Lawn Cemetery; erected by SCV.[99]
Public 1961–2020 Phoenix Memorial to Arizona Confederate Troops, in Wesley Bolin Park, next to the Arizona State Capitol; UDC memorial.[99]
Road 1943–2020 Jefferson Davis Memorial Highway marker 50 mi (80 km) east of Phoenix; erected by UDC. Tarred and feathered in August 2017.[99][101]
Public 1984–2015 Picacho Peak State Park A commemorative sign and a plaque commemorated the Battle of Picacho Pass, the westernmost Confederate engagement of the war. The sign is "dedicated to Capt. Sherod Hunter's 'Arizona Rangers, Arizona Volunteers' C.S.A.", while the plaque states three Union soldiers buried on battlefield and includes both US Union and CSA flags. The sign was removed in 2015 due to deterioration of the wood and the plaque was moved onto the Union stone monument.[99][102][103]

Arkansas

[edit]

As of 24 June 2020, there are at least 65 public spaces with Confederate monuments in Arkansas.

State capitol

[edit]

Monuments

[edit]
Van Buren Confederate Monument at Crawford County Courthouse in Van Buren, Arkansas

Courthouse monuments

[edit]

Other public monuments

[edit]
Bentonville Confederate Monument
Confederate Statue, Fayetteville Confederate Cemetery
Confederate Soldiers Monument, Little Rock National Cemetery
Little Rock Confederate Memorial, Little Rock National Cemetery
Robert E. Lee Monument in Marianna
Star City Confederate Memorial

Inhabited places

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Parks

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Roads

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Schools

[edit]

State symbols

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Flag of Arkansas since 1913
  • Flag of Arkansas The blue star above "ARKANSAS" represents the Confederate States of America and is placed above the three other stars for the countries (Spain, France and the US) to which the State belonged before statehood. The diamond shape represents the nation's only diamond mine with a border of 25 stars, symbolizing the 25th U.S. state.[128] The design of the border around the white diamond evokes the saltire found on the Confederate battle flag.[129]

California

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As of 23 July 2020, there were at least four public spaces with Confederate monuments in California.

Inhabited places

[edit]

Roads

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Schools

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  • Anaheim: Savanna High School (1961) mascot has always been Johnny Rebel and a fiberglass statue of a Confederate soldier stood in the courtyard from 1964 until 2009[132] when it was removed due to deterioration. The school colors are red and grey and the school fields the Savanna Mighty Marching Rebel Band and Color Guard.

Mountains and recreation

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Mine

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Stonewall Jackson Mine, San Diego County, circa 1872
  • San Diego County: Stonewall Jackson Mine (1870–1893), the richest gold mine in southern California history[138]

Colorado

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Robert E. Lee Mine in Leadville. Photo by William Henry Jackson.

Inhabited Places

[edit]

Schools

[edit]
  • Keenesburg: Weld Central Senior High School and Weld Central Middle School share the Weld Central Rebel, a Civil-war-era-soldier which used to appear with depictions of Confederate flags. School teams are named Rebels.[139]

Monument

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Mine

[edit]

Delaware

[edit]

As of June 24, 2020, there is at least one public space with Confederate monuments in Delaware.

District of Columbia

[edit]

As of 24 June 2020, there are at least nine public Confederate monuments in Washington, D.C., mostly in the National Statuary Hall Collection. (See above)

  • Albert Pike Memorial (1901):[145] An outdoor statue that is owned by the National Park Service at 3rd and D Streets NW in the Judiciary Square neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Pike was a Confederate General and leading Freemason and is dressed as a Mason in the sculpture.[57] The statue is a "portrait of Albert Pike as a Masonic leader and not as a general in the military."[146][147][148] "Eight D.C. elected officials have asked the National Park Service to remove" the statue.[149] On June 19, 2020, protesters tore down the statue and set it on fire as part of the George Floyd protests because of Pike's association with the Confederacy.

Florida

[edit]

As of 24 June 2020, there are at least 63 public spaces with Confederate monuments in Florida.

An August 2017 meeting of the Florida League of Mayors was devoted to the topic of what to do with Civil War monuments.[150]

State capitol

[edit]

State symbol

[edit]
Flag of Florida since 1900
  • The current flag of Florida, adopted by popular referendum in 1900, with minor changes in 1985, contains the St. Andrew's Cross. It is believed that the Cross was added in memory of, and showing support for, the Confederacy.[153][154][155] Others instead say there is no link with the Confederacy, but that the saltire recalls the Cross of Burgundy, the emblem of New Spain.[156][157][158] However, the addition of the Cross was proposed by Governor Francis P. Fleming, a former Confederate soldier, who was strongly committed to racial segregation.

State holiday

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  • In Florida, Robert E. Lee's birthday (January 19), Confederate Memorial Day (April 26), and Jefferson Davis's birthday (June 3) are legal holidays.[159]

Monuments

[edit]

Courthouse monuments

[edit]
Unveiling of Confederate Monument, Ocala, 1908

Other public monuments

[edit]
Monument in Crawfordville, Florida
  • Crawfordville, Florida, Wakulla County:
    • Confederate Monument (1987): This white obelisk is located in Hudson Park. It is inscribed on one side with an image of a Confederate flag and the words: "1861–1865. In loving memory of those from Wakulla County who served the Confederacy during the war between the states. Erected by the R. Don McLeod Chapter 2469 United Daughters of the Confederacy May 17, 1987."
  • Daytona Beach:
    • Confederate Sun Dial Monument (1961)[32] Originally a marble base and column topped with a sundial (by the early 1980s all that remained was its base and its bronze plaque). Dedicated to the Confederate dead. Erected by United Daughters of the Confederacy in 1961. Plaque was removed by the City of Daytona Beach in 2017 after violent clashes in Charlottesville, Virginia over their Robert E. Lee monument. Was to be given to Halifax Historical Museum.[166]
    • Two other bronze plaques were erected in Riverfront Park by the Sons of Confederate Veterans in 1979 and 1985, which listed the names of Confederate veterans buried in East Volusia County. They were mounted on a long granite wall with other plaques commemorating various US wars. They were also removed by the city in 2017 to also be given to the Halifax Historical Museum.[166]
    • Confederate Boulder Monument (1979)[32]: 33 
Memorial in Darsey, Florida
Yellow Bluff Fort Monument
United Daughters of the Confederacy members seated around a Confederate monument in Lakeland, 1915
  • Madison: Confederate monument, Four Freedoms Park (1909). Lists names of men who died from county. Nearby sits a monument to former slaves in the county.[162][32]: 35 
  • Miami: Confederate monument, Confederate Circle in City Cemetery (1914 at the Dade County Courthouse, was moved to cemetery in 1927)[180][32]: 36 
Olustee Battlefield Historic State Park
  • Olustee:
    • Battlefield monument, Olustee Battlefield Historic State Park (1912). Inscription: Here was fought on February 20, 1864, the Battle of Ocean Pond under the immediate command of General Alfred Holt Colquitt, "Hero of Olustee." This decisive engagement prevented a Sherman-like invasion of Georgia from the south. Erected April 20, 1936, by the Alfred Holt Colquitt Chapter, United Daughters of the Confederacy Ga. Div.
    • CSA Brigadier General Joseph Finnegan Monument, Olustee Battlefield Historic State Park (1912). "Placed by The United Daughters of the Confederacy Florida Division In Memory of Brig. Gen. Joseph Finegan Commander of the District of Middle and East Florida So well did he perform his part that a signal victory over the Federals was won in the Battle of Olustee Feb. 20, 1864"
  • Pensacola:
    • Florida Square was renamed Lee Square in 1889.[181]
    • A 50-foot monument to Our Confederate Dead, erected in 1891, is in Lee Square.[182] It commemorates Jefferson Davis, Pensacolian Confederate veterans Stephen R. Mallory (Secretary of the Confederate Navy) and Edward Aylesworth Perry (Confederate General and Governor of Florida 1885–1889), and "the Uncrowned Heroes of the Southern Confederacy." The mayor of Pensacola has called for its removal.[181]
  • Perry: Confederate monument, Taylor County Sports Complex (2007)[183][184]
  • Quincy: Confederate memorial, Soldiers Cemetery within Eastern Cemetery, part of the town's National Register Historic District (2010). The memorial also notes the restoration of the historic fence.[185][186]
  • St. Augustine:
    • Confederate monument, on the Plaza de la Constitución (1879).[187] "The Confederate Memorial Contextualization Advisory Committee, a seven-member task force comprised mostly of historians", in 2018 recommended to the City Commission that the monument be kept, with the addition of "some necessary context".[188]
  • St. Cloud: Confederate monument, Veterans Park (2006)[189]
  • St. Petersburg: Confederate monument, Greenwood Cemetery (1900)[190]
  • Tampa: There is a stained-glass window donated by the United Daughters of the Confederacy in 1906 in honor of Father Abram Ryan, called "Poet of the Confederacy", in the Sacred Heart Catholic Church.
  • Trenton: Confederate monument, across from Gilchrist County Courthouse in Veterans' Park (2010)[191]
  • Woodville: In Loving Memory Monument, Natural Bridge Battlefield Historic State Park (1922)[32]: 37  A plaque placed at the base of the monument in 2000 lists the names of those who died as a result of the battle.[192]

Private monuments

[edit]
  • Alachua: Confederate monument, Newnansville Cemetery (2002) by the Alachua Lions Club[193]
  • Bradfordville, unincorporated community in Leon County: Robert E. Lee Monument, dedicated along Highway 319 in 1927 by UDC. Moved in the 1960s and 1990s, it is now located about a mile south of the Georgia border.[194][195]
  • Dade City: Confederate memorial, Townsend House Cemetery (2010)[196]
  • Deland: Confederate Veteran Memorial, Oakdale Cemetery (1958)[197]
  • Kissimmee: Granite obelisk in Rose Hill Cemetery, dedicated to Confederate veterans buried in Osceola County with their names listed on the monument. Erected 2002 by Sons of Confederate Veterans.[166]
  • Lake City:
    • Last Confederate War Widow, Oaklawn Cemetery, erected after her death in 1985. The memorial and the cemetery are along the Florida Civil War Heritage Trail.[198][199]: 28 
    • Our Confederate Dead, Oaklawn Cemetery (1901, rededicated 1996). A tall obelisk in memory of the unnamed soldiers who died at the nearby Battle of Olustee or in the town's Confederate hospital. The cemetery is the focal point of the opening of Lake City's annual Olustee Battle Festival.[200][201]
  • Leesburg: Memorial fountain made of rustic limestone, in Lone Oak Cemetery. Erected 1935 by United Daughters of the Confederacy but dedicated to soldiers of all wars. An adjacent 20-foot flagpole and inscribed granite block dedicated to Civil War veterans buried there was erected by the United Daughters of the Confederacy in 2005.[166]
  • Ormond Beach: 2011; Pilgrim's Rest Cemetery. Monument consists of a flagpole and a concrete base with an attached bronze Southern Cross of Honor and a granite slab listing the names of Confederate veterans buried there. Erected by Confederate Sons Association of Florida.[166]
  • Oxford: Upright granite slab monument in Pine Level Cemetery, listing the names of Confederate veterans buried in the cemetery. Erected 2007 by Sons of Confederate Veterans.[166]
  • White Springs: Confederate monument and large flag, along Interstate 75 (2002)[202]

Inhabited places

[edit]

Counties

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Municipalities

[edit]

Parks

[edit]
  • Ellenton: Judah P. Benjamin Confederate Memorial at Gamble Plantation Historic State Park (1925)[208]
  • Fort Walton Beach: Heritage Park preserves the Confederate Camp Walton named for the county it was located in.[209]
  • Jacksonville:
    • Confederate Park, opened in 1907. Originally named Dignan Park, the park was renamed when UCV chose the locale as the site for their annual reunions in 1914.[210] -now Springfield Park.
    • Hemming Park/Hemming Plaza (1899) renamed in honor of Civil War veteran Charles C. Hemming, after he installed a 62-foot (19 m)-tall Confederate monument in the park in 1898.[211][212] -now James Weldon Johnson Park.
    • Hemming Park station an elevated rail station taking its name from the park. Now James Weldon Johnson Park Station.
  • Miami: Robert E. Lee Park, the athletic field of Jose de Diego Middle School which replaced Robert E. Lee Middle School (1924–1989) in the Wynwood neighborhood in 1999.[213] A school district spokesman has said the name is not official and requested agencies with incorrect listings update them.[214] As of 2024, Google Maps has changed the park’s name to Jose de Diego Park.
  • Pensacola: Lee Square (1889) -now Florida Square.
  • Tampa: Confederate Memorial Park, opened 2008 by the Sons of Confederate Veterans.

Roads

[edit]

Schools and libraries

[edit]
  • Gainesville:
    • J.J. Finley Elementary School (1939), named for CSA Brig. Gen. Jesse J. Finley.[218] -now Carolyn Beatrice Parker Elementary School.
    • Kirby-Smith Center (1939), Alachua County Public Schools administrative offices. Constructed in 1900, the building was initially the all white Gainesville Graded & High School.[219] In August 2017, the school board announced plans to rename the center.[220]
    • Sidney Lanier School. Lanier was a Confederate soldier and poet.
  • Hillsborough County: Robert E. Lee Elementary School aka Lee Elementary Magnet School of World Studies and Technology was built 1906 and named for Lee in 1943. A school board member pushing for a rename in 2017 noted that had Lee's army won the war "a majority of our students would be slaves."[221] -now Tampa Heights Elementary Magnet School.
  • Jacksonville[222]
    • J.E.B. Stuart Middle School (1966), named for CSA Gen. J. E. B. Stuart. -now Westside Middle School.
    • Jefferson Davis Middle School (1961) -now Charger Academy.
    • Kirby-Smith Middle School (1924), named for CSA Gen. Edmund Kirby Smith. -now Springfield Middle School.
    • Robert E. Lee High School (1928) -now Riverside High School.
    • Stonewall Jackson Elementary School -now Hidden Oaks Elementary School.
  • Orlando:
    • Robert E. Lee Middle School, renamed College Park Middle School in 2017.[223]
    • Stonewall Jackson Middle School was renamed Roberto Clemente Middle School in 2020, as was the road in front of the school.
  • Pensacola: Escambia High School's Rebel mascot riots, 1972–1977. Before a noncontroversial name was chosen, protests and violence occurred at the school and in the community, crosses were burned on school district members' lawns, lawsuits were filed, and the Ku Klux Klan held a rally and petitioned the school board.
  • Tampa: Lee Elementary School of Technology / World Studies (1906). The school's mascot is Robert E. Lee's horse Traveller. In July 2015, students asked the school board to change the school's name.[224] In June 2017, a board member asked the board to consider the name change.[225] -now Tampa Heights Elementary School

City symbols

[edit]
  • Hillsborough County: until 1997, the Hillsborough County seal included the Confederate Battle Flag.[226]
  • Panama City: city flag is quite similar to the Florida state flag with a white background and the St Andrews cross echoing the Confederate Battle Flag, but with the city seal replacing the state seal.

City holiday

[edit]
  • On April 2, 2019, Ocala mayor Kent Guinn signed a declaration declaring that April 26, 2019, would be Confederate Memorial Day. He said he has done so in previous years.[227]

County holiday

[edit]
  • In 2016, the Commission of Marion County (county seat Ocala) declared April as Confederate History Month.[165]

Georgia

[edit]

As of June 24, 2020, there are at least 201 public spaces with Confederate monuments in Georgia.

Confederate monument in Macon, Ga on Mulberry street circa 1877

Hawaii

[edit]

Idaho

[edit]

The settlement of Idaho coincided with the Civil War and settlers from Southern states memorialized the Confederacy with the names of several towns and natural features.[228][229][230]

As of June 24, 2020, there are at least three public spaces with Confederate monuments in Idaho.

Inhabited places

[edit]
  • Atlanta: unincorporated, and its Atlanta Airport. The area was named by Southerners after reports of a Confederate victory over Gen. Sherman in the Battle of Atlanta, which turned to be wholly false, but the name stuck.
  • Confederate Gulch: unincorporated former mining community.[231][230]
  • Grayback Gulch: unincorporated former mining community, settled by Confederate soldiers and named for the color of their uniforms. Now a U.S. Forest Service campground.[232]
  • Leesburg: an unincorporated former goldmining town settled by southerners and named for Robert E. Lee.[233]

Natural features and recreation

[edit]

Illinois

[edit]
Confederate Monument at Oak Woods Cemetery in Chicago

The four memorials in Illinois are in Federal cemeteries and connected with prisoners of war.

Federal cemeteries

[edit]

Federal plot within private cemetery

[edit]

Indiana

[edit]

As of June 24, 2020, there is at least one public space with Confederate monuments in Indiana.

Confederate monument, Crown Hill National Cemetery, Indianapolis

Iowa

[edit]

As of June 24, 2020, there is at least one public space with Confederate monuments in Iowa.

Kansas

[edit]

Veterans Memorial Park in Wichita, Kansas holds one Confederate and Union monument, a Reconciliation Memorial. "The intent of this memorial is to bring folks together and reconcile their differences," As Confederate Monuments Come Down Across U.S., Wichita Memorial Comes Into Question. The Memorial is a small obelisk with text honoring North and South combatants on both sides. See Removal of Confederate monuments and memorials#Kansas for monuments which have been removed.

Kentucky

[edit]

As of 24 June 2020, there are at least 37 public spaces with Confederate monuments in Kentucky.

Monuments

[edit]
Confederate Monument, Georgetown
Confederate Monument, Spring Hill Cemetery, Harrodsburg
John B. Castleman Monument, Louisville
Lloyd Tilghman Statue, Paducah

Bridge

[edit]

Inhabited places

[edit]

Parks

[edit]

Roads

[edit]

Highways

[edit]

Schools

[edit]

Louisiana

[edit]

As of 24 June 2020, there are at least 83 public spaces with Confederate monuments in Louisiana.

State capitol

[edit]
  • Gov. Francis T. Nicholls Statue (1934). Nicholls was a brigadier general in the Confederate Army.
  • Gov. Henry Watkins Allen Statue (1934). Allen was a brigadier general in the Confederate Army. He is buried on the Old Louisiana State Capitol grounds.
  • "Silent Sentinel" Monument, officially the Confederate Soldiers of East and West Baton Rouge Parishes Memorial. Plinth erected 1886 and statue in 1890. Dedicated by Gov. John McEnery. Original granite and marble plinth cracked; replaced in the 1960s with a small brick plinth that was aesthetically unappealing. Formerly at North Boulevard and 3rd Street, near City Hall. In 2012, to make room for Town Square construction, it was moved to the nearby Old Louisiana State Capitol, now a museum.[282] Plaque reads: "Erected by the men and women of East and West Baton Rouge to perpetuate the heroism and patriotic devotion of the noble soldiers from the two parishes who wore the gray and crossed the river with their immortal leaders to rest under the shade of the trees. Original monument erected 1886 A.D."

Buildings

[edit]
Confederate Memorial Hall in New Orleans

Monuments

[edit]

Courthouse monuments

[edit]

Other public monuments

[edit]
Greenwood Cemetery, New Orleans
Army of Tennessee Tomb, Metairie Cemetery, New Orleans
Monument at Camp Moore, Tangipahoa Parish
Charles Didier Dreux statue in New Orleans

Inhabited places

[edit]

Parks

[edit]

Roads

[edit]
  • Baton Rouge:
    • Confederate Avenue
    • Jeff Davis Street
    • Lee Drive
  • Bell City: Jeff Davis Road
  • Bogalusa: Jefferson Davis Drive
  • Bossier City:
    • General Bragg Drive
    • General Ewell Drive
    • General Polk Drive
    • General Sterling Price Drive
    • Jeb Stuart Drive
    • Kirby Smith Drive
    • Longstreet Place
    • Robert E. Lee Boulevard
    • Robert E. Lee Street
  • Chalmette: Beauregard Street
  • Gretna: Beauregard Drive
  • Houma: Jefferson Davis Street
  • Lafayette: Jeff Davis Drive
  • Lake Charles:
    • Beauregard Drive
    • Beauregard Avenue
    • Beauregard Street
  • Merryville: Robert E. Lee Road
  • Monroe: Jefferson Davis Drive
  • New Orleans:
    • Beauregard Drive
    • Dreux Avenue, named for Confederate General Charles Didier Dreux
    • Gayarre Place, named for Charles Gayarré, a financial supporter of the Confederacy. Clio, muse or goddess of history, is on a monument. (Gayarré was a historian.) The monument was paid for by George Hacker Dunbar, an artilleryman during the Civil War, married to a niece of General Beauregard. The original statue was replaced in 1938, after vandals damaged it.[298]
    • Governor Nicholls Street
    • Jefferson Davis Parkway. Originally named Hagan Avenue; name changed in 1911 to coincide with the unveiling of the Jefferson Davis Monument.[296] -now Norman C. Francis Parkway.
    • Lee Circle
    • Polk Street
    • Robert E. Lee Boulevard
    • Slidell Street
  • Pineville:
    • Jefferson Davis Drive
    • Longstreet Drive
  • Rayne: Jeff Davis Avenue

Schools

[edit]

Confederate flag display

[edit]

Maryland

[edit]
The Confederate Soldier, Loudon Park National Cemetery, Baltimore

There are at least 7 confederate monuments on public land. They are generally in or near cemeteries.

As of December 27, 2022 there is one statue on a large stone of General Robert E. Lee at the Antietam battlefield, visible from the road. It was on private land adjacent to the park, and was donated with the land.

The "Talbot Boys" statue in Easton, Maryland was the last Confederate monument removed from public property on March 14, 2022.

State symbols

[edit]
Flag of Maryland since 1904
  • Flag of Maryland (1904). The state flag of Maryland features the red-and-white Crossland Banner, the unofficial state flag of Maryland used by secessionists and Confederates during the American Civil War.[303][304][305][306] The current state flag started appearing after the Civil War as a form of reconciliation. The flag became official in 1904.
  • The former state song "Maryland, My Maryland" calls on the state to join the Confederacy.[307] Prior to 2021, the Maryland General Assembly voted nine times to repeal, replace, or alter the state song, all without any success. In 2017, the Mighty Sound of Maryland, the marching band of the University of Maryland at College Park, stopped playing the song.[308] In March 2021, both houses of the Maryland General Assembly voted by substantial margins to abandon "Maryland, My Maryland" as the state song. On May 18, 2021, governor Larry Hogan signed the bill officially repealing the state song.[309] Since then, Maryland has had no official state song.

Monuments

[edit]

Public monuments

[edit]

Private monuments

[edit]
Monument to the Unknown Confederate Soldiers, Frederick, Maryland
  • Beallsville: Memorial to Confederate soldiers at Monocacy Cemetery (1911; replaced 1975).[316]
  • Frederick: Monument to the Unknown Confederate Soldiers (1881), Mount Olivet Cemetery[317]
  • Fox's Gap, Frederick County, Maryland: North Carolina Monument (2003): The monument is a life sized bronze figure of a wounded Confederate color bearer on a base of black granite. It was created by sculptor Gary Casteel for the Living History association of Mecklinburg, North Carolina, and unveiled on October 18, 2003. It is dedicated to all the North Carolina troops who fought in the Battle of South Mountain. Fox's Gap is the southernmost battlefield of the Battle of South Mountain. The property is owned by the Central Maryland Heritage League, a battlefield protection group.[318]
North Carolina Memorial at Fox's Gap
North Carolina Memorial at Fox's Gap (2003)
  • White's Ferry, Montgomery County: Confederate Monument, a granite pedestal.
    The base of the CSA monument moved from Rockville, MD, to White's Ferry, MD.
The original monument, a bronze life-sized Confederate soldier on this pedestal, was originally donated by the UDC and the United Confederate Veterans, and built by the Washington firm of Falvey Granite Company at a cost of US$3,600 (equivalent to $114,533 in 2024). The artist is unknown.[319] The inscription says "To Our Heroes of Montgomery Co. Maryland That We Through Life May Not Forget to Love The Thin Gray Line / Erected A.D. 1913 / 1861 CSA 1865."[320] because Confederate uniforms are gray. The Rockville dedication was on June 3, 1913, Jefferson Davis's birthday,[320] and was attended by 3,000 out of a county population of 30,000.[321] It was originally located in a small triangular park[322] called Courthouse Square. In 1971, urban renewal led to the elimination of the Square, and the monument was moved to the east lawn of the Red Brick Courthouse (no longer in use as such), facing south.[323] In 1994 it was cleaned and waxed by the Maryland Military Monuments Commission.[319] The monument was defaced with "Black Lives Matter" in 2015; a wooden box was built over it to protect it.[324] The monument was removed in July 2017 from its original location outside the Old Rockville Court House to private land[322] at White's Ferry in Dickerson, Maryland.[325][326] The statue was removed from the pedestal in June 2020, but the pedestal urging people to "Love The Thin Gray Line" remains.

Inhabited places

[edit]

Roads

[edit]

Ferry

[edit]
Gen. Jubal A. Early
The renamed White's Ferry ferryboat
[edit]

Massachusetts

[edit]

As of May 2019, all public memorials had been removed.[332]

Private memorials

[edit]
  • Cambridge
    • Memorial Hall, Harvard University. Stained-glass windows to commemorate various figures, among them:
      • Honor and Peace Window (1900). There is no inscription, but a Harvard University page (Memorial Hall) explaining the windows says: "This window commemorates those who surrendered their lives in the War of the Rebellion." Portrays two warriors, one with sword high in triumph, one kneeling in defeat, who from the ribbons can be seen to be from different but related countries.
      • Student and Soldier Window (1889). Soldier wears gray uniform.

Michigan

[edit]

As of June 29, 2020, there is at least one known public monument of a confederate soldier in Michigan. It is located in Allendale, Michigan, a town in Ottawa County. A part of the Veterans Garden of Honor (1998) which features nine life sized statues of soldiers from various wars, the statue in question depicts a union soldier and a confederate soldier back to back with a young slave at their feet holding a plaque reading "Freedom to Slaves," and the date January 5, 1863.[333]

Minnesota

[edit]

Murray County Central High School in Slayton, and United South Central High School in Wells both use a Rebel mascot and the nickname "Rebels."[334]

Mississippi

[edit]

As of 24 June 2020, there are at least 147 public spaces with Confederate monuments in Mississippi.

Missouri

[edit]

As of 24 June 2020, there were at least 19 public spaces with Confederate monuments in Missouri.

Monuments

[edit]

Courthouse monuments

[edit]
Statue of David Rice Atchison in front of the Clinton County Courthouse, Plattsburg, Missouri

Other public monuments

[edit]
UDC monument at Forest Hill and Calvary Cemetery, Kansas City, Missouri
Union Confederate Monument, Union Cemetery, Kansas City, Missouri

Inhabited places

[edit]

Parks

[edit]

Roads

[edit]

Schools

[edit]

Montana

[edit]

As of 24 June 2020, there are at least 2 public spaces with Confederate monuments in Montana.

Nevada

[edit]

As of June 24, 2020, there is at least one public space with Confederate monuments in Nevada.

New Jersey

[edit]
Confederate Monument (1910), Finn's Point National Cemetery.

There are at least two public spaces dedicated to the Confederacy in New Jersey.

New Mexico

[edit]

As of June 24, 2020, there is at least one public space with Confederate monuments in New Mexico.

New York

[edit]
Confederate Monument, Woodlawn National Cemetery, Elmira, New York

As of 24 June 2020, there are at least 3 public spaces with Confederate monuments in New York.[356]

Monuments

[edit]

Public monuments

[edit]
  • The Bronx: Busts of Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee were in the Hall of Fame for Great Americans at Bronx Community College. The college removed the busts in 2020.[357][358]
  • Central Park: J. Marion Sims. In November 2017, the cover of Harper's Magazine featured J. C. Hallman's article "Monumental Error," about the Central Park monument of controversial surgeon – and Confederate spy – J. Marion Sims.[359] The timing coincided with the work New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio's committee on monuments, and Hallman's article was distributed to members of New York's Public Design Commission. The commission voted unanimously to remove Sims's statue, and it was removed in April 2018.[360] Hallman has since written articles about Sims's statue in Montgomery, Alabama, and is working on a book, The Anarcha Quest, about Sims and his so-called "first cure," Anarcha Westcott.[361]

Private monuments

[edit]

Roads

[edit]
  • Fort Hamilton, Brooklyn:
    • General Lee Avenue. The avenue was renamed to John Warren Avenue in 2022, to honor a 22-year-old lieutenant in the Army who was killed in the Vietnam War in January 1969.[365]
    • Stonewall Jackson Drive. The road was later renamed to Washington Road in 2022, shortly after the renaming of General Lee Avenue.
Governor Andrew Cuomo had twice requested the Army, unsuccessfully, to have these streets renamed.[358]

North Carolina

[edit]

As of 24 June 2020, there are at least 164 public spaces with Confederate monuments in North Carolina.

Ohio

[edit]

As of 24 June 2020, there are at least 5 public spaces with Confederate monuments in Ohio.

Historical marker

[edit]

Monuments

[edit]
Confederate Soldier Memorial, Camp Chase, Columbus
The Lookout (1910), Johnson's Island, Ottawa County[369]

Inhabited places

[edit]
  • Confederate Hills, a neighborhood in Batavia Township named for the Confederate cause that is home to roads named for a CSA leader and various southern locations, notably Stanton Hall and the Natchez Trace.

Roads

[edit]
  • Batavia Township:
  • Day Heights:
  • Fairfield:
    • Robert E Lee Drive, memorializing CSA Gen. Robert E. Lee.
    • Stonewall Lane, memorializing CSA Gen. Stonewall Jackson.
  • Mt. Repose:
    • Beauregard Court, memorializing CSA Gen. P. G. T. Beauregard.
    • Jeb Stuart Drive, memorializing CSA Gen. J. E. B. Stuart.
    • Monassas Run Road, memorializing the CSA victory at the battle at Manassas, known to the North as Bull Run.
    • Stonewall Jackson Drive, memorializing CSA Gen. Stonewall Jackson.

Schools

[edit]
  • Cleveland: John Adams High School uses the Rebels team name, but the mascot more closely resembles a cavalier than a Confederate soldier.[374]
  • Mcconnelsville: Morgan High School is named for Confederate General John Hunt Morgan.[citation needed] Their nickname is the "Raiders".
  • Willoughby: Willoughby South High School dropped its Confederate uniformed mascot and removed all remaining Confederate imagery from the school while retaining the Rebels team name and school colors grey and blue. In 1993 the school dropped Stars and Bars as the school song and removed Confederate imagery from school uniforms.[374]

Oklahoma

[edit]

As of 24 June 2020, there are at least 13 public spaces with Confederate monuments in Oklahoma.

Buildings

[edit]
  • Ardmore: Oklahoma Confederate Home, operated as OK Confederate Home from 1911 to 1942. Renamed Oklahoma Veterans Center after last residing confederate veteran passed.[375][376]

Monuments

[edit]
Stand Watie Monument, Polson Cemetery, Delaware County
Confederate Monument at Cherokee National Capitol

Schools

[edit]
Robert E. Lee School in Durant, Oklahoma
  • Durant: Robert E. Lee Elementary School[383]
  • Oklahoma City: school board studying renaming in 2017
    • Robert E. Lee Elementary School (1910)[384] -now Adelaide Lee Elementary School.
    • Jackson Elementary School (1910)[384] -now Mary Golda Ross Enterprise Elementary School.
    • Wheeler Elementary School (1910)[384]
    • Stand Watie Elementary School (1930)[384] -now Esperanza Elementary School.
  • Pauls Valley: Lee Elementary School

Inhabited places

[edit]

Roads

[edit]
  • Jay: Stand Watie Road

Oregon

[edit]

As of 24 June 2020, there are no public spaces with Confederate monuments in Oregon.

Pennsylvania

[edit]

As of 24 June 2020, there are at least 3 public spaces with Confederate monuments in Pennsylvania.

Monuments

[edit]
Virginia State Monument (1917), Gettysburg Battlefield.
Confederate Soldiers and Sailors Monument (1911), Philadelphia National Cemetery.

Roads

[edit]
  • Gettysburg: Confederate Avenue
  • McConnellsburg: Confederate Lane

Rhode Island

[edit]

As of 24 June 2020, there are no public spaces with Confederate monuments in Rhode Island.

South Carolina

[edit]

As of 24 June 2020, there are at least 194 public spaces with Confederate monuments in South Carolina.[388]

South Dakota

[edit]

In July 2020 the Confederate flag was removed from the patch of Gettysburg South Dakota police officers.

As of June 24, 2020, there is at least one public space with Confederate monuments in South Dakota.

  • Gettysburg: The Gettysburg police uniforms feature a patch with overlapping U.S. and Confederate flags and a civil-war era cannon along with the city's name, in a nod to the city's namesake, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, site of the famous Battle of Gettysburg.[389] The historical reference logo for the police emblem and uniform patch was designed in 2009.[390]

Tennessee

[edit]

As of 24 June 2020, there are at least 105 public spaces with Confederate monuments in Tennessee. The Tennessee Heritage Protection Act (2016) and a 2013 law restrict the removal of statues and memorials.[43]

The Tennessee legislature designated Confederate Decoration Day, the origin of Memorial Day, as June 3, and in 1969[391] designated January 19 and July 13, their birthdays, as Robert E. Lee Day and Nathan Bedford Forrest day respectively.

State capitol

[edit]
  • Nathan Bedford Forrest Bust. On display in the Capital rotunda since 1978. Former governor Bill Haslam wished to remove it, but he was not supported by the Legislature or the Capitol Commission. "In 2010, the state moved the Forrest bust from outside the doors of the House of Representatives' chamber to its current location between the legislature's two chambers. It was relocated in order to make room for a bust of Sampson Keeble, Tennessee's first black legislator."[392] In January 2019 a group of students demonstrated at the capital, calling for its removal.[393]

Buildings

[edit]

Monuments

[edit]

Courthouse monuments

[edit]
Tipton County Courthouse, Covington
Confederate Monument "Chip", Franklin
Confederate Women monument, Nashville

Other public monuments

[edit]
Pyramid of cannonballs commemorate Patrick Cleburne in Franklin, Tennessee

Private monuments

[edit]
  • Nashville
    • Nathan Bedford Forrest Statue, made of fiberglass over foam, 25 feet high, on private land[412] near Interstate 65, installed in 1998, built with private money. It is surrounded by Confederate battle flags, constituting what the owner calls "Confederate Flag Park." (No government recognizes it as a park, and the entrance is chained shut with a "No Trespassing" sign.) The giant statue is visible from the highway to anyone entering the city from the south.[413] It has been called "hideous"[413] and "ridiculous."[414] There have been numerous calls for its removal. Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam said: "It's not a statue that I like and [ sic ] that most Tennesseans are proud of in any way."[415] Former Nashville Mayor Megan Barry called the statue "an offensive display of hatred."[415] In 2015, Nashville's Metro Council voted to petition the Tennessee Department of Transportation to plant obscuring vegetation;[416] the Department declined, because it is private land.[413] ("Never mind that the T.D.O.T. itself removed the obscuring vegetation back in 1998, when the statue was first erected."[413][415]) There has been occasional vandalism; in December 2017 it was covered in "pussy-hat pink" paint,[413] which Bill Dorris, current owner of the land, says he intends to leave.[417] He also said that if trees are planted to block the view from I-65, he "would make the statue taller."[412] It was sculpted, at no charge, by notorious racist Jack Kershaw, an attorney for Martin Luther King's murderer, famous for having said "Somebody needs to say a good word for slavery."[418][419]

Inhabited place

[edit]

Parks

[edit]

Roads

[edit]
  • Brentwood
    • Jefferson Davis Drive
    • Robert E. Lee Lane
  • Culleoka: General Lee Road
  • Dandridge
    • Jeb Stuart Drive
    • Stonewall Jackson Drive
  • Elizabethton: Stonewall Jackson Drive
  • Eva: Jeff Davis Drive
  • Forest Hills: Robert E. Lee Drive
  • Franklin:
    • General J.B. Hood Drive
    • General Nathan Bedford Forrest Drive
    • Jeb Stuart Drive
    • Jefferson Davis Drive
  • Gallatin: Robert Lee Drive
  • Nashville:
    • Beauregard Drive
    • Jefferson Davis Drive
    • Confederate Drive
    • General Forrest Court
    • Robert E. Lee Court
    • Robert E. Lee Drives (two different streets with the same name)
  • Newport
    • Robert E. Lee Drive
    • Stonewall Jackson Driv
  • Oak Hill: Stonewall Jackson Court
  • Pulaski
    • Sam Davis Avenue
    • Sam Davis Trail
  • Sardis: Jeff Davis Lane
  • Smyrna
    • Jeb Stuart Drive
    • Lee Lane
    • Longstreet Drive
    • Robert E. Lee Lane
    • Sam Davis Road
    • Stonewall Drive

Schools

[edit]
  • Chapel Hill: Forrest High School
  • Nashville: Father Ryan High School, named for Abram Ryan, called "Poet of the Confederacy".
  • Paris: Robert E. Lee School – now called Paris Academy for the Arts.
  • Sewanee: The University of the South: "Nowhere is the issue of Confederate remembrance more nettlesome than at Sewanee, whose origin[s] are entwined with the antebellum South and the Confederacy."[420] Confederate flags are in stained glass windows of the chapel, as is the Seal of the Confederacy.[420] It benefited greatly at its founding by a large gift from John Armfield, at one time co-owner of Franklin and Armfield, the largest and most prosperous slave trading enterprise in the country. Students as late as 1871 were required to wear uniforms of "cadet gray cloth".[421] Confederate flags hung in the chapel from its dedication in 1909 until the mid-1990s when they were removed "reportedly to improve acoustics".[422] There is an official portrait hanging at the University of Bishop Leonidas Polk, "an ardent defender of slavery,"[420] who was in charge of the celebration of the cornerstone laying in 1857, and said the new university will "materially aid the South to resist and repel a fanatical domination which seeks to rule over us."[423] He resigned his ecclesiastical position to become a major general in the Confederate army (called "Sewanee's Fighting Bishop"), and died in battle in 1864. His official portrait at the University depicts him dressed as a bishop with his army uniform hanging nearby. However, his portrait was moved from Convocation Hall to Archives and Special Collections in 2015.[424] The Confederate flag was also emblazoned on the university mace that led processions marking the beginning and ending of the term from 1965 until 1997. At a special chapel service to celebrate Jefferson Davis' birthday, the Ceremonial Mace was consecrated to the memory of Nathan Bedford Forrest, the first Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, by Bishop Charles C. J. Carpenter of Alabama – one of the clergy who opposed Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s activities in Birmingham in 1963 (see A Call for Unity), prompting King to write his "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" in response.[422]
Calhoun Hall, named for slave owner and Confederate supporter W. H. Calhoun.

Tourist sites

[edit]
  • Pigeon Forge: "Rebel Railroad" was a small theme park built in 1961, its main attraction being a simulated Confederate steam train which afforded "'good Confederate citizens' the opportunity to ride a five mile train route through 'hostile' territory and to help repel a Yankee assault on the train". Rebel Railroad was purchased in 1970 by Art Modell, owner of the Cleveland Browns.[436][437][438] In 2018 it is operating under the name Dollywood.
  • Morristown, General Longstreet Headquarters Museum[439]

Texas

[edit]

As of 24 June 2020, there are at least 205 public spaces with Confederate monuments in Texas.[440] "Nowhere has the national re-examination of Confederate emblems been more riven with controversy than the Lone Star State."[441]

State capitol

[edit]
  • "The Texas Capitol itself is a Confederate monument," according to then-Land Commissioner Jerry E. Patterson.[442] The Texas Confederate Museum was once housed in the Capitol.
    • Confederate Soldiers Monument (1903) features four bronze figures representing the Confederate artillery, cavalry, infantry, and navy. A bronze statue of Jefferson Davis stands above them.[443] The inscription reads: "Died for state rights guaranteed under the constitution. The people of the South, animated by the spirit of 1776, to preserve their rights, withdrew from the federal compact in 1861. The North resorted to coercion. The South, against overwhelming numbers and resources, fought until exhausted."[444]
    • Hood's Texas Brigade, a monument "to memorialize those [who] fought for the Confederacy".[445] "The monument includes a depiction of a Confederate soldier, quotes by Confederate leaders, a flag of the Confederacy and the Confederate battle flag."[446] These are the only Confederate flags currently (2017) visible in the Capitol.[447] Representative Eric Johnson has called for its removal.[446]
    • Terry's Texas Rangers Monument, a monument "to memorialize those [who] fought for the Confederacy"[445] (1907).

State symbols

[edit]
Seal of Texas
  • The reverse side of the Seal of Texas (1992) includes "the unfurled flags of the Kingdom of France, the Kingdom of Spain, the United Mexican States, the Republic of Texas, the Confederate States of America, and the United States of America". The Confederate flag is rendered as the Stars and Bars.

State holiday

[edit]
  • Confederate Heroes Day is celebrated on January 19. State employees have the day off.
  • April is Confederate History Month in Texas.[448]

Buildings

[edit]

Monuments

[edit]

Many monuments were donated by pro-Confederacy groups like Daughters of the Confederacy. County governments at the time voted to accept the gifts and take ownership of the statues.[449][450]

Detail of Cooke County Courthouse monument. Inscription reads “no nation rose so white and fair none fell so pure of crime[451]

Courthouse monuments

[edit]
  • Alpine: Confederate Colonel Henry Percy Brewster (1963)[452]
  • Aspermont: Historical marker, "County Named for Confederate Hero Stonewall Jackson", Stonewall County Courthouse (1963)
  • Bastrop: Monuments at Bastrop County Courthouse include:
  • Bay City: Confederate Soldiers' Monument (1913), Matagorda County Courthouse[455][456]
  • Belton: Confederate Soldiers' Monument, Bell County Courthouse[457]
  • Bonham: Confederate Soldiers' Monument (1905), Fannin County Courthouse[458]
  • Bryan: Commemorative marker, erected 1965, to the Brazos County Confederate Commissioners Court.[459]
  • Comanche: Confederate Soldiers' Monument (2002), Comanche County Courthouse[460]
  • Corsicana: Call to Arms (Confederate Soldiers' Monument), by Louis Amateis (1907), Navarro County Courthouse.[461][462] A Civil War bugler stands in uniform holding a bugle to his mouth with his proper right hand. He holds a sword in his proper left hand at his side. He wears a hat with a feather in it and knee-high boots. A bedroll is slung over his proper left shoulder and strapped across his chest and proper right hip. The sculpture is mounted on a rectangular base.[463] "Isaac O'Haver was a member of Co K of the 17th VA Cavalry. He was a 17 year-old bugler for his unit. He was born Sep. 20, 1844 and died at the age of 27 on March 30, 1872. He is buried at the Ladoga Cemetery."[464] The plaques on the monument read:
    • South side: The Call to Arms Erected 1907 by Navarro chapter United Daughters of the Confederacy To commemorate the valor and heroism of our Confederate Soldiers It is not in the power of mortals to command success The Confederate Soldier did more – he deserved it. "But their fame on brightest pages penned by poets and by pages Shall go sounding down the ages"
    • West side: "Nor shall your glory be fought while fame her record keeps or honor points the hollowed spot where valor proudly sleeps" "Tell it as you may It never can be told Sing it as you Will It never can be sung The Story of the Glory of the men who wore the gray"
    • East side: "It is a duty we owe the dead who died for us: – But where memories can never die – It is a duty we owe to posterity to see that our children shall know the virtues And rise worthy of their sires".
    • North side: The soldiers of the Southern Confederacy fought valiantly for The liberty of state bequeathed them By their forefathers of 1776 "Who Glorified Their righteous cause and they who made The sacrifice supreme in That they died To keep their country free"[463]
  • Clarksville: Confederate Soldiers' Monument, Red River County County Courthouse[465]
Denton, Texas
  • Denton: Denton Confederate Soldier Monument, Denton County Courthouse.[466] Cost $2,000; a project of the Denton Chapter, UDC. Dedicated June 3, 1918, Jefferson Davis's birthday.[467] It had "whites only" drinking fountains on each side.[468] In 2015 it was defaced with the words "THIS IS RACIST" in red paint.[469] The twenty-year campaign of a Denton resident, Willie Hudspeth, to have the monument removed was the subject of a Vice news video in 2018.[468] After the wave of Confederate monument removals that followed the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, and in large part as a result of Hudspeth's campaign, a county 15-person Confederate Memorial Committee met for three months in 2017–18 and recommended "adding context" – two video kiosks and a large plaque, "with interviews about local veterans and the history of slavery"[470] – to the monument rather than removing it, a suggestion accepted unanimously by the county commissioners. Once the nature of the historical context has been determined, approval of the Texas Historical Commission will be required.[471] As of September 2018, "the county still does not have a timeline for completing the project and...there were no updates to report".[472] The video caught the attention of Kali Holloway, director of the Make It Right Project, which is working to remove Confederate monuments. She added the Denton monument to the group's "top 10 list" of monuments they consider priorities.[243][472] The statue was removed in June 2020.[473]
  • Fort Worth: Monument to "Confederate Soldiers and their Descendents" (1953), Tarrant County Courthouse[474]
Dignified Resignation in Galveston, Texas
  • Galveston: Dignified Resignation (1909) by Louis Amateis at the Galveston County Courthouse. With his back turned to the US flag while carrying a Confederate flag, it is the only memorial in Texas to feature a Confederate sailor.[475][476] It was "erected to the soldiers and sailors of the Confederate States of America." An inscription on the plaque reads, "there has never been an armed force which in purity of motives intensity of courage and heroism has equaled the army and navy of the Confederate States of America."[444]
  • Gainesville: Confederate Soldiers' Monument, Cooke County Courthouse (1911)[477][478][451][479]
Confederate Soldiers and Sailors Monument in Georgetown, Texas
Confederate Mothers Monument in Texarkana

Other public monuments

[edit]
Confederate Memorial Plaza in Anderson, Texas
Confederate Soldiers Monument, Austin
Confederate Monument, Beaumont
  • Alpine: CSA Gen. Lawrence "Sul" Ross Monument (1963)
  • Anderson: Confederate Memorial Plaza (2010).[509] The plaza beside the Grimes County courthouse flies a Confederate flag behind a gate with metal lettering reading "Confederate Memorial Plaza." A metal statue depicts one of several Grimes County residents who fought with the 4th Texas volunteer infantry brigade in Virginia.[444]
  • Athens: Henderson County Confederate Monument (1964)
  • Austin:
    • Hood's Texas Brigade Monument, Texas State Capitol
    • Littlefield Fountain, University of Texas, commemorates George W. Littlefield, a university regent and CSA officer. An inscription reads, "To the men and women of the Confederacy who fought with valor and suffered with fortitude that states [sic] rights be maintained."
    • Texas Confederate Women's and Men's Historical Markers, at 3710 Cedar St. and 1600 W. Sixth, commemorate campgrounds built to house and care for widows, wives, and veterans of the Confederacy.[445]
  • Beaumont: "Our Confederate Soldiers" Monument (1912). Removed in June 2020.[510]
  • Clarksville: Confederate Soldier Monument (1912)
  • Cleburne: Cleburne Monument (2015) Confederate Arch (1922)
  • Coleman: Hometown of Texas CSA Col. James E. McCord Monument (1963)
  • College Station: A statue of Lawrence Sullivan Ross, Confederate general and former president of A&M University is located on the campus of Texas A&M University. In August 2017 the Chancellor of the university, John Sharp, confirmed that the university will not be removing the statue from the campus.[511]
  • Corpus Christi: Queen of the Sea (1914; restored 1990), bas-relief by Pompeo Coppini; UDC-sponsored Confederate memorial featuring an allegorical female figure – representing Corpus Christie – holding keys of success while receiving blessings from Mother Earth and Father Neptune, who are standing next to her.[475] "Coppini was abhorrent of war", and in Queen of the Sea "he crafted a sculpture that symbolized peace and captured the spirit of Corpus Christi".[512]
  • El Paso:
    • Hometown of Texas CSA Capt. James W. Magoffin Monument (1964)
    • CSA Maj. Simeon Hart Monument (1964)
  • Farmersville: Confederate Soldier Monument (1917), Farmersville City Park[513]
  • Fort Worth: Confederate Soldier Memorial (1939), Oakwood Cemetery[475]
  • Gainesville Confederate Heroes Statue (1908) in Leonard Park[514][515]
  • Gonzales: Confederate Soldiers' Monument, Confederate Square. Dedicated on June 3, 1909. To "our Confederate dead."[516][517]
  • Greenville: Confederate Soldier Monument (1926)
  • Holliday: Stonewall Jackson Camp 249 Monument (1999)
  • Houston:
  • Kermit: Col. C.M. Winkler Monument (1963)
  • Marshall:
    • Confederate Capitol of Missouri Monument (1963)
    • Confederate Monument (1906)
    • Home of Last Texas Confederate Gov. Pendleton Murrah Monument (1963)
  • Miami: Col. O.M. Roberts Monument (1963)
John H. Reagan Memorial in Palestine, Texas. The allegorical figure seated beneath Reagan represents the Lost Cause of the Confederacy.[475]

Private monuments

[edit]
Confederate Veterans Memorial Plaza, Palestine, Texas
  • Austin: Confederate monument, Oakwood Cemetery. Erected in 2016 by the Sons of Confederate Veterans.[520]
  • Belton: Monument to Confederate Sargeant Jacob Hemphill. Erected 2016 by Sons of Confederate Veterans.[521]
  • Crowley: "Confederate Veterans Memorial Monument honoring The Confederate Veterans of Crowley and the surrounding area interred at the Crowley Cemetery." Erected 2011 by the Sons of Confederate Veterans.[521]
  • Hempstead: The Liendo Plantation was a center for Confederate recruiting efforts and held Union prisoners during the war. Now it holds battle reenactments and demonstrations of Civil War era Confederate life at its annual Civil War Weekend.
  • Orange: The Confederate Memorial of the Wind, located on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, but visible from I-10, has been under construction since 2013, and will be the largest Confederate monument built since 1916, according to the Sons of Confederate Veterans.[441] A center stone ring is held aloft by 13 pillars, one for each state that seceded. There are twenty commemorative flagpoles.
  • Palestine: Confederate Veterans Memorial Plaza (2013), funded by the Sons of the Confederate Veterans[522]

Inhabited places

[edit]

Counties

[edit]

Municipalities

[edit]

Museums

[edit]

Parks

[edit]
  • Confederate Reunion Grounds State Historic Site, Limestone County, near Mexia, Texas
  • Davis Mountains State Park (1938) named for the mountain range
  • Davis Mountains (geographic feature in West Texas around and named for Fort Davis)
  • Fort Worth: Jefferson Davis Park.[527] -now Unity Park.
  • Holliday: Stonewall Jackson Campground
  • Lakeside, Tarrant County: Confederate Park. The two Confederate flags displayed on each side of the park's marker were removed by the Texas Department of Public Transportation in 2017. Marker text:

    Site of Confederate Park // Local businessman Khleber M. Van Zandt organized the Robert E. Lee Camp of the United Confederate Veterans in 1889. By 1900 it boasted more than 700 members. The Club received a 25-year charter to create the Confederate Park Association in 1901, then purchased 373 acres (151 ha) near this site for the "recreation, refuge and relief of Confederate soldiers" and their families. Opening events included a picnic for veterans and families on June 20, 1902, and a statewide reunion September 8–12, 1902, with 3,500 attendees. The park thrived as a center for the civil and social activities on Texas Confederate organizations. By 1924 the numbers [ sic ] of surviving veterans had greatly diminished, and the Confederate Park Association dissolved when its charter expired in 1926.

    [527]
  • Palestine: John H. Reagan Park

Roads

[edit]
  • Austin:
    • In July 2018, at approximately the same time that Robert E. Lee Road and Jeff Davis Avenue were renamed, the city's Equity Office recommended changing the names of seven more streets:
  • Conroe:
    • Beauregard Drive
    • Jubal Early Lane
    • Stonewall Jackson Drive
  • El Paso: Robert E. Lee Road – now Buffalo Soldier Road
  • Hamilton: Stonewall Jackson Road
  • Hillsboro: Confederate Drive
  • Hemphill:
    • Confederate Street
    • Stonewall Street
  • Holliday: Stonewall Road
  • Houston:
    • Robert E. Lee Road – now Unison Road.
    • Robert Lee Road
    • Sul Ross St, Named for Lawrence Sullivan Ross, Confederate general and former president of Texas A&M University.
    • Tuam Street, a major artery named for CSA Gen. Dowling's birthplace, Tuam, Ireland.
  • Hunt: Robert E. Lee Road
  • Jacksonville: Jeff Davis Street
  • Kermit East Winkler Street
  • Lakeside Confederate Park Road
  • League City: Jeb Stuart Drive
  • Levelland: Robert Lee Street
  • Liberty: Confederate Street
  • Livingston: Robert E. Lee Road
  • Marshall:
    • Jeff Davis Street
    • Stonewall Drive
  • Missouri City
    • Beauregard Court
    • Bedford Forrest Drive
    • Breckinridge Court
    • Confederate Drive
    • Pickett Place
  • Richmond:
    • Jeb Stuart Drive
    • Jeff Davis Drive
    • Stonewall Drive
  • Ridgley: Bedford Forrest Lane
  • Roma: Robert Lee Avenue
  • San Antonio:
    • Beauregard Street
    • Robert E. Lee Drive
  • Sterling City: Robert Lee Highway
  • Sweetwater: Robert Lee Street
  • Tyler:
    • Jeb Stuart Drive
    • Jeff Davis Drive
  • Victoria: Robert E. Lee Road

Note: "There are similarly named streets in towns and cities across east Texas, notably Port Arthur and Beaumont, as well as memorials to Dowling and the Davis Guards, not least at Sabine Pass, where the battleground is now preserved as a state park"

Schools

[edit]
  • Abilene:
    • Jackson Elementary School – now Dr. Jose Alcorta Sr. Elementary School.
    • Johnston Elementary School – now Eugene Purcell Elementary School.
    • Lee Elementary School (1961) -now Robert and Sammye Stafford Elementary School.
  • Amarillo:
    • Lee Elementary School (was renamed Park Hills Elementary School in 2019)
    • Tascosa High School. Confederacy iconography was dropped in 1974. The school dropped its mascot, Johnny Reb, and stopped playing "Dixie" as their fight song. The Dixieland Singers became the Freedom Singers. Miss Southern Belle became Tascosa Belle. The "Rebel" nickname remained, but other ties to the Civil War disappeared.[529]
  • Austin:
  • Bryan:
  • Buda:
    • Jack C. Hays High School. The school uses the "Rebel" nickname for its athletic teams.[534] Mascot "Colonel Jack" no longer has a Confederate flag belt buckle but still dresses in grey. The school dropped the Confederate flag as an official symbol in 2010 and the school district banned it from all district property in 2012.[535] In 2015 it replaced the school song "Dixie".
  • Baytown:
Stonewall Jackson Elementary School, Dallas
  • Dallas:
    • Albert Sidney Johnston Elementary School – now Cedar Crest Elementary School.
    • John H. Reagan Elementary School – now Bishop Arts STEAM Academy.
    • Robert E. Lee Elementary School – now Geneva Heights Elementary School.
    • Stonewall Jackson Elementary School (1939) – now Mockingbird Elementary School.
    • Sidney Lanier Expressive Arts Vanguard Elementary School – now Jesús Moroles Expressive Arts Vanguard Elementary School.
  • Denton: Lee Elementary School (1988), renamed Alice Moore Alexander Elementary School in 2017
  • Eagle Pass: Robert E. Lee Elementary School – now Juan N. Seguin Elementary School.
  • Edinburg: Lee Elementary School
  • El Paso: Lee Elementary School -now Sunrise Mountain Elementary School.
  • Evadale: Evadale High School. The school uses a Confederate flag-inspired crest. Its athletic teams are nicknamed the "Rebels".[537]
  • Fort Davis:
  • Gainesville: Robert E. Lee Intermediate School – now Gainesville Intermediate School.
  • Grand Prairie: Robert E. Lee Elementary School (1948) -now Delmas F. Morton Elementary School.
  • Houston:
    • Davis High School (1926). In 2016, the Houston school board voted to rename the school.[538] -now Northside High School.
    • Dowling Middle School (1968), named for CSA Maj. Richard W. Dowling. In 2016, the Houston school board voted to rename the school.[538] -now Audrey H. Lawson Middle School.
    • Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson Middle School to Yolanda Black Navarro Middle School of Excellence.
    • Sydney Lanier, Confederate poet and soldier. In 2016, the Houston school board voted to rename the school.[538] -now Bob Lanier Middle School.
    • Lee High School to Margaret Long Wisdom High School.
    • John H. Reagan High School (1926). In 2016, the Houston school board voted to rename the school.[538] -now Heights High School.
    • Johnston Middle School (1959), named for Albert Sidney Johnston. In 2016, the Houston school board voted to rename the school.[538] -now Meyerland Performing and Visual Arts Middle School.
  • Marshall: Robert E. Lee Elementary School – closed in 2018.
  • Midland:
    • Lee Freshman High School (1961) – now Midland Freshman High School.
    • Lee High School (1961). The school's athletic teams are nicknamed the "Rebels". Lee High School had used the Confederate flag in the past.[539] -now Legacy High School.
  • North Richland Hills, home of the Richland High School "Rebels" and "Dixie Belles". The school mascot is "Johnny Rebel".[540]
  • Port Arthur: Lee Elementary School (1959)-now Lakeview Elementary School.
  • Robert Lee:
    • Robert Lee Elementary School
    • Robert Lee High School
  • Rosenberg: B. F. Terry High School. Named for Confederate hero Benjamin Franklin Terry.
  • San Angelo: Lee Middle School (1949)-now Lone Star Middle School.
  • San Antonio: Robert E. Lee High School (1958). After voting against a name change in 2015, the school board voted in August 2017 to change the name of the school.[541] In October, district trustees voted 5-2 to name the school Legacy of Educational Excellence, or LEE High School.[542] Its mascot is currently the Volunteer and the school colors are red and grey. Its pep squad, currently called the Southern Belles, were once called the Confederates. Its varsity dance team and junior varsity drill team are respectively named the Rebel Rousers and Dixie Drillers.[444]
  • Stonewall: Stonewall Elementary School
  • Tyler:
    • Hubbard Middle School (1964), named for Confederate Col. Richard B. Hubbard
    • Robert E. Lee High School (1958). Called "the city's most radioactive Confederate symbol," the possible renaming of the school was the subject of active discussion at meetings in August and September 2017. In 1970, as a result of a statewide federal desegregation order, the school had to get rid of "its Confederate-themed mascot (the Rebels), fight song ("Dixie"), and prized Confederate flag (so large that it required twenty boys to carry). Its beloved Rebel Guard, a squadron of boys handpicked by an American-history teacher to dress in replica Confederate uniforms at football games and fire a cannon named Ole Spirit after touchdowns, had to find a new name. Same for the Rebelettes drill team."[543] -now Tyler Legacy High School.

Other memorials

[edit]

Utah

[edit]

Vermont

[edit]

Virginia

[edit]

As of 24 June 2020, there were at least 241 public spaces with Confederate monuments in Virginia, more than in any other state.[546][547] Virginia also has numerous schools, highways, roads and other public infrastructure named for Confederates. Some have been removed since. Lee-Jackson Day ceased to be a State holiday in 2020.

Washington State

[edit]

As of 24 June 2020, only one public space contains a Confederate connected monument in Washington.

3rd Flag of the Confederacy and the Bonnie Blue Flag at the Jefferson Davis Park, 2018

At least two private properties contain a Confederate memorial or fly a CSA flag:

  • Clark County: Near Ridgefield is Jefferson Davis Park (2007), established by the SCV to hold the Jeff Davis Highway markers from Blaine and Vancouver. Flags of the Confederacy are also displayed there.[548][549]
  • Seattle: United Confederate Veterans Memorial, Lake View Cemetery. Erected in 1926 by United Daughters of the Confederacy.[550] In October 2018, the Make It Right Project put up a billboard in Seattle, saying: "Hey Seattle, there's a Confederate Memorial in your backyard".[551] After years of calls to remove the monument and numerous acts of vandalism against it, the monument was toppled by unknown persons, apparently on July 3, 2020. In the process, the lower ends of both formerly vertical columns were broken in multiple places.[552] The wreckage was discovered by visitors to the cemetery on July 4.

West Virginia

[edit]

As of 2020 there were 21 public spaces with Confederate monuments in West Virginia.

State capitol

[edit]

Monuments

[edit]
Bronze plaque commemorating the site of Pettigrew's death.
First Confederate Memorial (1867), Romney, West Virginia
  • Bunker Hill, West Virginia: Monument marking the death of Brig.-Gen. James Johnston Pettigrew, wounded on July 14, 1863, near Falling Waters during the retreat after the Battle of Gettysburg. He died at Edgewood on July 17, 1863.[557]
  • Clarksburg: Bronze equestrian statue of Stonewall Jackson created by Charles Keck (1953) by the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC). Jackson was born in Clarksburg.
  • Charles Town: Portraits of Lee and Jackson hang in the courtroom in which John Brown was tried and sentenced to death.[558]
  • Charleston – See West Virginia State Capitol, above.
  • Harpers Ferry: Heyward Shepherd Monument (1931). Although Shepherd was a black freeman working for the railway when killed in John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry, the monument was erected by UDC and Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV). They called the project the "Faithful Slave Memorial" for many years and saw it as a way to emphasize their idea that blacks enjoyed being slaves and that men like Shepherd were victims of those seeking to free slaves.[559]
  • Hinton: Confederate Soldier Monument, Summers County Courthouse (dedicated May 1914)[560] The base of the monument carries the inscription: "(North base:) This monument erected in honor of American valor as displayed by the Confederate soldiers from 1861 to 1865, and to perpetuate to remotest ages the patriotism and fidelity to principles of the heroes who fought and died for a lost cause. (East base:) sacred to the memory of the noble women of the Confederacy, who suffered more and lost as much, with less glory, than the Confederate soldier. (South base:) erected in the year 1914 by Camp Allen Woodrm Confederate veterans and Camp Bob Christian sons of Confederacy veterans and their friends. (West base:) This monument is dedicated to the Confederate soldiers of Greenbrier and New River valleys who followed Lee and Jackson.[561]
  • Lewisburg: Confederate Monument (1906) The Confederate "monument was erected by the United Daughters of the Confederacy at a cost of $2,800. The monument was originally located on the campus of the Greenbrier College, but moved to its present location when U.S. Route 60 was relocated."[562] It is now located on the lawn of the old public library in Lewisburg. Some residents have suggested interpretive signage for the statue.[563] The inscription on the base reads, "In memory of our Confederate dead."[564]
  • Mingo: Confederate Soldier Monument (1913/2013) The inscription reads in part, "TO THE MEMORY OF THE CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS OF RANDOLPH COUNTY AND VICINITY THIS INCLUDES ALL SOLDIERS WHO DIED IN VALLEY MOUNTAIN"[565]
  • Parkersburg: Confederate Soldier Monument, (1908) The monument was created by Leon Hermant and the inscription reads in part, " IN MEMORY OF OUR CONFEDERATE DEAD ERECTED BY PARKERSBURG CHAPTER UNITED DAUGHTERS OF CONFEDERACY"[566]
  • Romney: First Confederate Memorial (1867) Carved on the main facade are the words, "The daughters of Old Hampshire erect this tribute of affection to her heroic sons who fell in defense of Southern Rights."
  • Union: Monroe County Confederate Soldier Monument (1901); marble statue inscribed "There is a true glory and a true honor. The glory of duty done, the honor of integrity of principle. R. E. Lee"[567]

Inhabited places

[edit]

Parks and water features

[edit]

Roads

[edit]

Schools

[edit]
  • Charleston: Stonewall Jackson Middle School occupies the building that housed the former Stonewall Jackson High School.
    • The name was changed to West Side Middle School in July 2020.

Wisconsin

[edit]
  • Prairie du Chien: United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) monument to Jefferson Davis at Fort Crawford Cemetery Soldiers' Lot. Davis served briefly at Fort Crawford.[571] The text on the plaque reads, "JEFFERSON DAVIS, 1808–1889, Lieutenant United States Army, Assigned Fort Crawford 1831, Served here with distinction during Black Hawk War, Hero in Mexican War 1846–1848, United States Congressman, Senator, Secretary of War, President Confederate States of America, 1861–1865, Erected by The United Daughters of the Confederacy"[572]
  • Wisconsin Dells: The Confederate spy Belle Boyd (1844–1900) is buried in Spring Grove Cemetery in Wisconsin Dells. She would go on tour in the United States and speak about being a spy for the Confederacy. She also wrote a book about her career. She was to speak at a Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) Post in Kilbourne City (now Wisconsin Dells) when she died from a heart attack. Members of the local GAR served as pallbearers at her funeral and was buried at the cemetery. Her grave is marked with a Confederate flag.[573]

Wyoming

[edit]

Natural features

[edit]
  • Yellowstone National Park: The Lamar River (named 1884–85) is named for L.Q.C. Lamar, a secessionist who drafted the instrument of Mississippi's secession and raised a regiment for the Confederates with his own money. He served as a Confederate ambassador to Russia. The river was named while he served as the United States Secretary of the Interior after the war. The Lamar Valley and other park features or administrative names which contain Lamar are derived from this original naming.[574]

International

[edit]

Brazil

[edit]
  • In 1865, at the end of the American Civil War, a substantial number of Southerners left the South; many moved to other parts of the United States, such as the American West, but a few left the country entirely. The most popular country of Southerners emigration was Brazil, which still allowed slavery and wanted to encourage cotton production.[575] These emigrants were known as Confederados. A Confederate monument was erected in the city of Americana, São Paulo state, Brazil.[576]

Canada

[edit]

Ireland

[edit]
  • Tuam: Ireland commemorated CSA Major Richard W. Dowling, who was born in the Tuam, with a bronze memorial plaque on the Town Hall bearing his image and life story. Text of plaque: "Major Richard W. (Dick) Dowling C.S.A., 1837–1867 Born Knock, Tuam; Settled Houston Texas, 1857; Outstanding business and civic leader; Joined Irish Davis Guards in American Civil War; With 47 men foiled Invasion of Texas by 5000 federal troops at Sabine Pass, 8 Sept 1863, a feat of superb gunnery; formed first oil company in Texas; Died aged 30 of yellow fever. This plaque was unveiled by Col. J.B. Collerain 31 May 1998"

Scotland

[edit]

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]

References

[edit]

Further reading

[edit]
[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia
from Grokipedia
Confederate monuments and memorials are public statues, obelisks, plaques, and markers dedicated to the , its military leaders such as and , and the soldiers who fought for it during the from 1861 to 1865. These installations, which include cemetery markers and commemorative structures, total over 2,000 symbols across the as of 2022, with approximately 700 being physical monuments, though the exact count varies due to ongoing removals and differing methodologies in tracking. Predominantly located in former Confederate states like , Georgia, and , they also appear in Union states and territories, reflecting the war's national impact and postwar migration of veterans. The erection of these memorials occurred primarily after the war's end, with initial efforts in the and focused on burying the dead and early reconciliation, but the bulk arose in two major waves: from the to the 1920s, peaking around 1911 amid the decline of surviving veterans and the rise of , and a secondary surge in the and coinciding with opposition to federal civil rights advancements. Organizations like the , formed in 1894, were instrumental in fundraising, lobbying, and placing these tributes to venerate ancestors, promote sectional healing, and embed a emphasizing and valor over the Confederacy's explicit defense of as stated in its ordinances. This "Lost Cause" interpretation, while contested by historians for minimizing slavery's causal role—evidenced in primary documents like South Carolina's 1860 declaration—drove much of the memorialization, often aligning with efforts to memorialize Confederate dead without broader national honors for Union sacrifices. Controversies intensified in the as these sites became flashpoints for interpreting the war's legacy, with empirical correlations showing higher concentrations in counties with histories of postwar violence like lynchings, suggesting reinforcement of racial hierarchies during segregation. Proponents view them as preservations of heritage and tributes to combatants on deserving respect for their sacrifices, akin to memorials for other defeated forces in , while opponents, drawing on secession-era records, argue they sanitize a rooted in human bondage and were strategically deployed to intimidate during disenfranchisement eras. Since 2015, over 300 have been removed or relocated, accelerating after the 2017 Charlottesville violence and 2020 unrest, prompting legal battles over property rights, historical accuracy, and public memory, with removals concentrated in urban areas and on .

Historical Development

Immediate Post-War Memorials (1865-1890)

Following the surrender at Appomattox in April 1865, initial Confederate memorial efforts emphasized the dignified burial of fallen soldiers amid widespread grief over an estimated 258,000 Confederate deaths during the war. These activities were spearheaded by newly formed Ladies' Memorial Associations (LMAs), voluntary women's groups that coordinated the exhumation of remains from scattered battlefield graves and Union-controlled sites for reinterment in dedicated Confederate cemeteries. In Virginia alone, LMAs retrieved thousands of bodies in 1865–1866, establishing cemeteries like the Winchester Confederate Cemetery under the Winchester LMA's efforts that summer. Early memorials during this era were predominantly funerary in nature, consisting of simple markers, headstones, or modest structures such as obelisks, arches, and fountains placed within cemeteries to honor the anonymous dead rather than individual leaders. The Savannah Ladies Memorial Association, organized in 1867, focused on maintaining Confederate graves in Laurel Grove Cemetery and fundraising for such commemorative features. One documented example is Florida's first Confederate monument, a modest marker erected in 1871 in Walton County to commemorate local soldiers, initially placed at Valley Church before later relocations. These installations reflected immediate post-war priorities of closure and respect for casualties, unconstrained by the later ideological frameworks that drove public statuary. The scale of monument construction remained limited from 1865 to 1890, with very few dedications compared to subsequent decades; historical analyses indicate that the majority of early Confederate memorials—approximately 70% in the first two post-war decades—were cemetery-based, funded through LMA efforts amid Southern economic hardship and Reconstruction-era restrictions on overt Confederate symbolism. markers also appeared sporadically, as veterans began placing them as early as 1865, though many early sites included both Union and Confederate remembrances. This phase prioritized empirical acts of remembrance—recovering and consecrating remains—over triumphant public displays, setting a for honoring soldiers as victims of conflict rather than celebrants of .

Peak Era of Construction (1890-1920s)

The period from to the represented the zenith of Confederate monument construction, during which the majority of the roughly 700 public monuments across the were erected. This surge aligned with the 50th anniversary commemorations of the Civil War, peaking in 1911 when Confederate monument dedications briefly outpaced those for Union forces. Many featured generic depictions of Confederate soldiers rather than specific leaders, reflecting efforts to honor the estimated 258,000 Confederate military deaths and the aging veteran population. Central to this era was the (UDC), founded on September 10, 1894, in , by Caroline Meriwether Goodlett and Anna Mitchell Davenport Raines. The organization, whose membership exceeded 100,000 by 1918, spearheaded fundraising and planning for numerous monuments, markers, and educational initiatives to perpetuate the memory of Confederate sacrifices. Notable UDC-sponsored projects included the statue unveiled in , in 1907; the Confederate Memorial at dedicated in 1914; and the "" statue at the unveiled in 1913. The UDC contributed to the erection of between 450 and 700 such commemorative structures, often placing them in prominent public spaces like courthouses and town squares to symbolize Southern resilience and heritage. Complementary efforts came from the , established in 1896, which collaborated on veteran reunions and monument unveilings that drew large crowds, such as the 1890 equestrian statue of in Richmond attended by an estimated 150,000 people. These constructions were driven by a desire to memorialize personal and familial losses from the war while countering perceived Northern historical dominance, though their timing coincided with the entrenchment of Jim Crow segregation laws across the South. Projects like the carving in Georgia, initiated in the to depict , , and , exemplified ambitious undertakings funded by private donors and organizations to enshrine Confederate icons in enduring form. Empirical patterns indicate that this wave not only preserved gravesite markers from earlier decades but expanded into civic symbols reinforcing regional identity amid national reconciliation efforts.

Construction During Jim Crow and World Wars (1930s-1950s)

Construction of new Confederate monuments slowed markedly during the 1930s amid the , as economic hardship curtailed and projects typically supported by groups like the (UDC). Data from the Southern Poverty Law Center's timeline of Confederate symbols indicates fewer than 10 monuments dedicated annually in this decade, a sharp decline from the dozens erected yearly during the peak, reflecting broader resource constraints rather than waning interest in commemoration. Despite the firm establishment of Jim Crow segregation laws across Southern states, which enforced racial separation in public life, dedications emphasized traditional themes of honoring Confederate dead and preserving regional heritage, with limited examples such as the foundation laid in 1938 by the Virginia Division of the UDC. The pace remained subdued through the 1940s, hampered further by mobilization, which diverted materials, labor, and patriotic focus toward national defense efforts. Annual dedications hovered at low single digits, per compiled records, with isolated projects like the Confederate Monument in , unveiled in 1940 to memorialize local soldiers. UDC chapters persisted in smaller-scale endeavors, such as plaques and cemetery markers, but large-scale statue unveilings were rare, as wartime rationing and economic recovery priorities overshadowed Confederate memorialization. This period saw no significant shift in motivations, which continued to center on veteran remembrance and Lost Cause narratives framing the Confederacy as a noble defense of , though fewer living veterans remained to participate in ceremonies. A modest resurgence emerged in the 1950s, with dedications rising to around 20-30 per year by decade's end, aligning with the American Civil War centennial (1961-1965) and federal rulings like Brown v. Board of Education (1954) that undermined legal segregation. Examples include the UDC's 1950 memorial to Confederate soldiers in a Southern city cemetery and a 1957 plaque honoring General Richard B. Garnett in California, erected by UDC affiliates. Historians note that some 1950s projects served as public assertions of Southern identity amid desegregation pressures, though primary motivations cited by dedications often invoked historical anniversaries and casualty commemoration rather than explicit opposition to civil rights. This uptick, while smaller than earlier waves, underscored ongoing efforts by heritage organizations to maintain Confederate symbols in public spaces during a transformative era for racial policy.

Late 20th Century Additions and Shifts

Following the peak of Confederate monument dedications during the civil rights era in the and , which saw approximately 45 new monuments erected as a backlash to desegregation efforts, constructions declined markedly in the late . Data from surveys indicate fewer than 50 new monuments were dedicated between 1970 and 1999, a sharp drop from prior decades, reflecting waning public support for overt Confederate commemoration amid advancing civil rights norms and demographic shifts in the . This period's sparse additions were often driven by dedicated heritage organizations such as the , focusing on battlefield markers or veteran tributes rather than prominent public squares. A prominent example of late-century construction was the completion in 1972 of the massive Confederate carving on in Georgia, depicting leaders , , and Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, funded partly by private interests and state involvement to honor Southern heritage. In the , a minor uptick occurred with around 20-30 new dedications, including statues and plaques, coinciding with sesquicentennial commemorations of Civil War events and efforts to preserve perceived historical narratives against growing multicultural interpretations. These additions, however, faced nascent opposition, as evidenced by protests from African American legislators and civil rights groups beginning in the , who argued such symbols perpetuated racial division rather than neutral remembrance. Shifts in perception during this era included early legal and cultural challenges to Confederate , such as debates over state flags incorporating Confederate battle flags—leading to changes in Georgia in 1990 and South Carolina's prolonged controversy into the —and initial calls for contextual plaques or relocations rather than outright removals. Empirical patterns from dedication records show that post-1970 monuments increasingly emphasized over ideological figures, attempting to reframe commemorations around honor amid broader societal reevaluations of the Lost Cause mythology. Despite these efforts, the overall trend indicated a stabilization of existing memorials with minimal expansion, setting the stage for intensified 21st-century debates.

Motivations and Interpretations

Commemoration of Veterans and Casualties

Following the , a substantial number of Confederate monuments were erected to honor the soldiers who fought and died, emphasizing commemoration of veterans and casualties over political figures or ideological causes. Women's organizations, particularly the Ladies' Memorial Associations (LMAs) formed in cities across the starting in 1866, played a central role by recovering and reinterring battlefield remains, establishing dedicated cemeteries, and funding early markers and obelisks to memorialize the dead. These efforts focused on providing dignified burial sites for an estimated 258,000 Confederate fatalities, often in mass graves or scattered locations, with monuments inscribed to "the Confederate Dead" or listing individual names where known. The United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC), established in 1894, continued and expanded this tradition, funding at least 323 monuments explicitly intended as tributes to soldiers and their families' losses, many featuring generic soldier statues symbolizing the rank-and-file casualties. Empirical analysis indicates that 77% of documented Confederate monuments depict non-specific individuals, typically common soldiers rather than named leaders, underscoring the prevalence of veteran-focused memorials. The United Confederate Veterans (UCV), founded in 1889, similarly supported dedications at reunions and cemeteries, raising funds for markers honoring comrades, as seen in sites like the Confederate Mound where veterans' groups erected obelisks over collective graves. Federal facilities also preserve such commemorations; the Department of maintains 34 monuments and markers dedicated to Confederate soldiers, alongside nine cemeteries exclusively for their remains, reflecting post-war agreements to treat Confederate dead as honored casualties akin to Union forces. Notable examples include the Confederate Memorial, unveiled on June 7, 1914, which commemorates 267 reinterred soldiers from national cemeteries, with inscriptions emphasizing reconciliation through shared sacrifice but centered on the Southern dead. These structures, often placed in cemeteries during the 1865–1890 period, served practical purposes of grave marking while fostering communal mourning, distinct from later public placements glorifying commanders.

Lost Cause Ideology and States' Rights Emphasis

The Lost Cause ideology emerged in the immediate aftermath of the Civil War as a narrative framework among former Confederates to reinterpret the conflict's causes and outcomes, portraying the Southern defeat as a noble but foreordained struggle against overwhelming Northern industrial and numerical superiority rather than a moral failing tied to the institution of slavery. Coined in Edward A. Pollard's 1866 book The Lost Cause: A New Southern History of the War of the Confederates, the ideology emphasized themes of Southern chivalry, constitutional fidelity, and heroic sacrifice, while minimizing slavery's centrality by recasting it as a paternalistic system beneficial to both races. This interpretation gained institutional form through organizations like the Southern Historical Society, founded in 1869 by Confederate veterans including Jubal Early, which published works and speeches promoting these views to shape public memory. Monument erection became a primary vehicle for disseminating Lost Cause tenets, particularly from the 1890s onward, as groups such as the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC), established in 1894, and the Sons of Confederate Veterans raised funds for statues, obelisks, and plaques that embodied the ideology's romanticized view of the Confederacy as a defender of traditional values against federal aggression. The UDC, for instance, sponsored over 1,500 monuments by the mid-20th century, often inscribing them with language glorifying Confederate soldiers as upholders of "constitutional liberty" and embedding Lost Cause motifs in public spaces to foster generational adherence to the narrative. These efforts aligned with broader campaigns, including textbook revisions in Southern schools, where UDC-influenced curricula portrayed the war as a defense of agrarian virtue over industrial tyranny, sidelining slavery's role despite its explicit protection in the Confederate Constitution of 1861. A core element of Lost Cause promotion in memorials was the emphasis on as the war's animating principle, framing as a legitimate exercise of against perceived Northern violations of , such as tariffs and territorial expansion policies. Inscriptions on monuments frequently invoked this theme, as seen in dedications honoring those who "fought with valor... that be maintained," positioning the Confederacy's cause as an extension of the American founding rather than a bid to perpetuate . This rhetoric served to rehabilitate Confederate leaders like and as constitutionalists, with memorials often depicting them in heroic poses amid symbols of self-government, thereby embedding the states' rights argument in civic landscapes across the former Confederacy. However, primary historical documents contradict the Lost Cause minimization of slavery's causal role, revealing states' rights as subordinate to the preservation of the slave system. Secession ordinances from states like South Carolina (December 1860) and Mississippi (January 1861) explicitly cited the threat to slavery—such as Northern opposition to its expansion and the election of Abraham Lincoln—as the precipitating grievance, while Confederate Vice President Alexander Stephens declared in his 1861 Cornerstone Speech that the new government's "foundations are laid, its cornerstone rests, upon the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man" and that slavery formed its "immediate cause." The Confederate Constitution itself entrenched slavery by prohibiting laws impairing its practice and mandating its protection in territories, underscoring that appeals to states' rights were instrumental to safeguarding human bondage rather than an independent ideological driver. Proponents of the Lost Cause, including UDC publications, acknowledged slavery's existence but portrayed it as benign and unrelated to the conflict's onset, a claim at odds with these foundational texts and the absence of secessionist momentum prior to the 1860 election over slavery's future.

Reconciliation and Southern Identity

Confederate monuments played a role in fostering sectional reconciliation between the North and South in the decades following the Civil War, particularly from the 1880s onward, by emphasizing the shared military valor of soldiers on both sides while minimizing ideological conflicts over slavery and secession. This narrative allowed white Northerners to view former Confederates as honorable combatants rather than traitors, facilitating reintegration into the national fabric during events like the Spanish-American War in 1898, where veterans from both sections fought together. The 1914 dedication of the Confederate Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery exemplified this trend, symbolizing federal acknowledgment of Southern sacrifices and promoting a unified American identity among whites, though it excluded recognition of Union emancipation efforts or African American contributions. These memorials also reinforced Southern identity by preserving cultural memory of the Confederacy as a noble, albeit defeated, endeavor rooted in defense of home and states' rights, countering Northern-dominated historical accounts that portrayed the South as the aggressor. Organizations such as the United Daughters of the Confederacy, founded in 1894, drove much of this effort, raising funds for over 1,500 monuments by the mid-20th century to educate youth on Confederate heritage and instill regional pride amid rapid post-war industrialization and demographic shifts. This preservationist impulse, embedded in the Lost Cause ideology, framed the antebellum South as a romanticized agrarian ideal, helping Southern communities maintain distinct cultural cohesion while navigating national reconciliation on terms that upheld white social hierarchies. Empirical patterns show a surge in dedications during the 1890-1910 period, coinciding with peak reconciliation rhetoric in public discourse and joint veteran reunions. Critics from academic sources often highlight that this reconciliation was racially selective, prioritizing white unity over addressing the war's emancipation legacy, yet primary motivations from monument sponsors consistently cited commemoration and heritage preservation over explicit supremacist agendas. In Southern states, these structures became enduring symbols of resilience, with groups like the continuing advocacy for their retention as markers of authentic regional history against modern reinterpretations influenced by institutional biases.

Empirical Data on Dedication Patterns

Empirical analyses of Confederate monument dedications reveal a temporal distribution skewed toward the early rather than the immediate postwar period. A catalog of 1,186 Confederate monuments documents only 41 constructions (3% of the total) between 1865 and 1885, with 65% of these being funereal markers primarily at cemeteries. In contrast, the period from 1900 to 1914 saw 209 dedications (18%), marking the initial peak, followed closely by 205 (17%) from 1915 to 1945. Dedication rates exhibited specific annual highs during these surges, including elevated numbers in 1909–1911 and 1936 (31 monuments). A secondary spike occurred in the early , with 96 monuments (8%) erected from 1961 to 1964, peaking at 45 in 1963 and 44 in 1964, overlapping with the Civil War centennial observances and contemporaneous civil rights advancements. Later periods show diminished but persistent activity, such as 124 dedications (10%) from 1995 to 2019. These patterns diverge from Union monument constructions, which peaked earlier in the (e.g., 101 in 1888) before Confederate rates accelerated by about 15 years. Confederate dedications also shifted stylistically and locationally over time: early examples favored placements, while later ones emphasized statues in urban public spaces (53% in cities overall). Independent tracking corroborates the early 20th-century apex, recording 50 dedications in 1911 alone as the single highest year. The data indicate that while a minority of memorials addressed immediate veteran commemoration, the bulk aligned with eras of solidified (circa 1900–1940s) and pushback against desegregation efforts (1950s–1960s), as reflected in the timing rather than uniform postwar grief. Approximately 29% of monuments lack listed construction dates in the catalog, potentially underrepresenting early or private dedications, though trends hold across verified entries.

Distribution and Prevalence

Overall Scale and National Overview

As of April 2025, over 2,000 Confederate symbols—including monuments, memorials, flags, and place names—remain in public spaces across the , with approximately 685 dedicated as physical monuments such as statues or obelisks. These figures, tracked primarily by the (SPLC) through its "Whose Heritage?" database, reflect a reduction from earlier estimates of around 2,600 symbols due to removals exceeding 400 since 2017, accelerated by events like the 2020 protests that prompted the dismantling of at least 168 monuments in that year alone. Independent analyses, such as those from public records and historical surveys, corroborate the scale of roughly 700-736 extant monuments, emphasizing their prevalence on grounds, in parks, and at cemeteries. Historically, the erection of these monuments peaked between 1890 and the 1920s, coinciding with the entrenchment of Jim Crow segregation, when organizations like the funded hundreds to commemorate soldiers and promote narratives of Southern valor and . By contrast, immediate post-Civil War construction (1865-1890) was limited, with fewer than 100 documented, often focused on soldier graves rather than grand public displays. Later surges occurred in the 1950s-1960s amid resistance to civil rights advancements, adding dozens more, though federal sites like Arlington National Cemetery's Confederate Memorial (dedicated 1914) represent enduring institutional examples. Nationally, distribution is uneven, with over half of monuments concentrated in four former Confederate states: Virginia (historically the leader with over 100), Texas, Georgia, and North Carolina, often near county courthouses symbolizing local governance ties. Border states like Kentucky and Missouri host dozens, while non-Confederate regions, including the West (e.g., mining sites named for figures like Robert E. Lee in Colorado) and urban North, feature scattered markers tied to veteran burials or historical societies, underscoring a broader Civil War commemorative footprint beyond the South. This scale—dwarfed by over 1,000 Union monuments erected contemporaneously—highlights Confederate memorials' role in sectional memory, with ongoing debates influencing preservation versus removal rates.

Regional Concentrations in the Former Confederacy

The eleven states of the former Confederacy—Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia—host the vast majority of Confederate monuments and memorials nationwide, with estimates indicating over 80% of public monuments located there as of the late 2010s. Among these, Virginia, Georgia, and North Carolina exhibit the highest concentrations, collectively accounting for approximately one-third of known statues and monuments. Virginia alone had 110 such monuments in 2019, the highest national total, often clustered near county courthouses and historic sites tied to Civil War engagements. Georgia followed closely with 114 statues and monuments, many erected during the peak periods of the early and concentrated in urban centers like and rural counties alike, reflecting widespread local commemorative efforts. recorded 96, with notable densities in the eastern and central regions, including sites like Bentonville commemorating specific battles and veteran sacrifices. reported 67, 60, and 58, showing a gradient of prevalence that correlates with population size, historical battle density, and organizational activity by groups like the . Other former Confederate states had lower but still significant numbers; Arkansas had at least 65 public monuments as of 2020, often in smaller towns and cemeteries. By mid-century, over 1,000 monuments dotted the South, including more than 300 at courthouses, underscoring rural and county-level concentrations driven by grassroots veteran memorials. These patterns persist despite removals, with 723 monuments remaining nationwide as of 2022, predominantly in Southern public spaces. Densities are empirically linked to areas of heavier Confederate enlistment and casualties, rather than uniform distribution, as evidenced by spatiotemporal analyses of erection sites.
StateApproximate Number of Statues and Monuments (ca. 2020)
Georgia114
Virginia110
North Carolina96
Texas67
Alabama60
South Carolina58

Memorials in Border and Non-Confederate States

In the border states—Kentucky, Missouri, Maryland, and Delaware—which maintained Union allegiance amid divided populations and substantial enlistments for the Confederacy (approximately 25,000 from Kentucky and 40,000 from Missouri alone), memorials proliferated to commemorate local veterans and casualties rather than the Confederate government per se. These structures, often funded by veterans' associations or women's groups, emphasized soldierly sacrifice amid familial and community rifts, with dedications peaking in the early 20th century during national reconciliation efforts. Kentucky alone features over three dozen documented Confederate monuments, the earliest being the Cynthiana Confederate Monument, erected in 1869 by local women's associations to mark graves from skirmishes like the 1862 Battle of Cynthiana. Other prominent examples include the Glasgow Confederate Monument, dedicated in 1905 by the Kentucky Women's Monumental Association, and the Paducah Confederate Memorial, inscribed simply "Our Confederate Dead 1861–1865" and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997. Missouri's memorials similarly focus on state guard units and guerrilla fighters, with the 135-acre Confederate Memorial State Historic Site in Higginsville—established in the 1890s and formalized as a state park in 1951—serving as the largest, honoring over 26,000 reinterred Confederate burials from northern hospitals. The St. Louis Confederate Memorial in Forest Park, unveiled in 1914, depicts a maternal figure amid soldiers, reflecting themes of Southern loyalty in a Union-held city plagued by internal conflict. Maryland's contributions include the Confederate Soldiers and Sailors Monument in Baltimore, dedicated on June 3, 1903, by the local Confederate veterans' association to approximately 30,000 Marylanders who served the South despite federal occupation and emancipation policies. Delaware, with minimal secessionist activity, has scant pre-20th-century examples, though a granite Confederate War Memorial was erected in Georgetown in 2007 by the Sons of Confederate Veterans, listing over 95 Delaware sympathizers who aided the cause. Further afield in unequivocally non-Confederate states, particularly western territories briefly contested during the war or settled by Southern migrants, Confederate memorials are limited, typically numbering in the single digits per state and often denoting transient military episodes or private commemorations rather than widespread public endorsement. Arizona, invaded by Confederate forces from Texas in 1861–1862 to secure southwestern routes, hosts markers for events like the Battle of Picacho Pass, the war's westernmost engagement, alongside the Greenwood Memorial in Phoenix Cemetery—dedicated June 3, 1961, by the United Daughters of the Confederacy to Arizona's estimated 1,000 Confederate troops. A plaza monument at the state capitol, erected in 1961, was removed in July 2020 amid debates over its placement on public land. New Mexico saw similar incursions, with Confederate occupation of Mesilla in 1861 yielding plaques like the Santa Fe Confederate marker acknowledging the failed 1862 campaign. In California, a Union stronghold with pro-Southern enclaves among miners and farmers, symbols include historical plaques and mine namings (e.g., Stonewall Jackson Mine near San Diego, post-1865), with approximately 10 public markers persisting as of 2022, though traditional statues are absent and efforts like the Jefferson Davis Memorial Highway (marked 1913) have been dismantled. Colorado, settled post-war by ex-Confederates, maintains about six memorials, including the Boulder Civil War Monument (dedicated circa 1909, with Confederate inscriptions) and a marker in Denver's Riverside Cemetery for Southern veterans. Northern states like those in New England exhibit even fewer, often confined to cemetery plaques for Confederate prisoners or migrants, such as a historical marker at a Massachusetts fort noting Southern dead, underscoring minimal cultural traction outside reconciliation-driven or veteran-specific contexts.

Federal and Military Sites

Confederate memorials on federal lands primarily consist of monuments in national cemeteries, national military parks, and, until recent removals, active military installations. The U.S. Department of (VA) maintains 34 monuments and markers in national cemeteries that explicitly honor Confederate soldiers, sailors, and leaders, alongside nine Confederate-only cemeteries or gravesites. These structures, often erected in the early , commemorate deceased veterans interred in federal burial grounds established post-Civil War. The most prominent example is the Confederate Memorial at , dedicated on June 7, 1914, by President to honor approximately 482 Confederate soldiers buried there, including those relocated from other sites in 1901 and 1902. Sculpted by Moses Ezekiel, a Confederate , the bronze depicts a woman symbolizing reconciliation, surrounded by figures representing soldiers, civilians, and allegorical elements. The memorial was removed on December 20, 2023, pursuant to the for 2021, which mandated elimination of Confederate symbols on Department of Defense (DoD) property by January 1, 2024; its granite base remains undisturbed to preserve adjacent graves. In August 2025, Defense Secretary announced plans to refurbish and reinstall the by 2027 at an estimated cost of $10 million, reversing the prior removal. National military parks administered by the National Park Service (NPS), such as Gettysburg and Vicksburg, host numerous Confederate monuments among over 1,300 total markers at Gettysburg alone, installed largely between 1910 and 1930 to denote troop positions and honor casualties on battlefields. These were funded through federal appropriations and private groups like the United Daughters of the Confederacy, emphasizing tactical history and veteran commemoration rather than sectional ideology. At Vicksburg National Military Park, over 1,000 monuments, including Confederate ones, were placed with federal support during the early 1900s as part of park development. On active military bases, Confederate monuments and symbols—such as statues at former installations named for generals like —were systematically removed by the January 2024 deadline under the 2021 NDAA, following a DoD commission's recommendations to address divisiveness and align with military values. This included over 60 base renamings, like Fort Benning to Fort Moore, and disposal or relocation of associated memorials, though some artifacts were transferred to museums. As of 2024, no Confederate monuments remain on DoD installations, marking a shift from earlier tolerances during reconciliation efforts post-World War I.

Forms and Types

Public Statues and Obelisks

Public statues and obelisks dedicated to Confederate figures and soldiers represent a prominent form of commemoration in civic spaces across the , particularly in former Confederate states. These structures typically feature bronze or stone sculptures of military leaders like or Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson on horseback, or anonymous infantrymen, alongside tall obelisks inscribed with dedications to the "Confederate dead." Early post-war examples, such as obelisks in cemeteries erected from 1866 onward, focused on honoring battlefield casualties through simple granite shafts. The majority of public statues emerged later, during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, often funded by heritage organizations including the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) and Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV). Dedications peaked between 1900 and 1920, with approximately 380 such monuments installed across Southern states in that span, coinciding with efforts to memorialize veterans amid national reconciliation and the rise of Jim Crow laws. In 1910 alone, 46 new monuments were unveiled in public spaces. Obelisks, valued for their classical symbolism evoking endurance, were commonly placed in town squares or alongside statues, as seen in the Confederate Obelisk at Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta, inscribed to the Confederate dead and erected in 1873 from Stone Mountain granite. Notable examples include equestrian statues of Lee in cities like Richmond, Virginia (dedicated 1890), and New Orleans, Louisiana (erected 1884), which stood in prominent public parks until recent removals. Obelisks often marked collective sacrifices, such as the one at Arlington National Cemetery, a federal site dedicated in 1914 with sculptural elements atop a pedestal to commemorate reconciled Southern soldiers buried there. The U.S. government itself authorized 53 Confederate monuments, 41 on Civil War battlefields, reflecting a broader pattern of postwar sectional healing through public acknowledgment of Southern losses. These installations, totaling over 700 documented public statues and obelisks as of early 21st-century surveys, were concentrated on courthouse grounds and capitol malls to assert regional identity.

Institutional and Place Names

Numerous public schools across the have been named after Confederate military leaders and officials, reflecting efforts to commemorate Southern figures from the Civil War era. A 2020 analysis identified approximately 340 such schools in 21 states, with concentrations in former Confederate states like , Georgia, and . These namings often occurred during the Jim Crow era, between 1910 and 1920, when organizations such as the advocated for honoring regional heritage through educational institutions. For instance, Robert E. Lee High School in , was established in 1927 and renamed in 2021 amid debates over historical symbolism. A peer-reviewed study examining school naming patterns from 2018 to 2023 determined that 4.7% of all U.S. public schools—equating to 4,172 institutions—initially carried names linked to Confederate figures, enslavers, or segregationists, though this figure declined slightly post-2020 due to targeted renamings in response to public protests. The study, drawing from a comprehensive database of school records, highlighted that such names persisted disproportionately in Southern districts, comprising up to 10-15% of schools in states like and , often tied to local traditions of venerating Civil War participants as defenders of . Renaming efforts have accelerated since 2020, with at least 59 schools changing names by mid-2020 alone, frequently replacing Confederate honorees with neutral or local historical figures. U.S. military installations also featured Confederate names, with ten major Army bases designated after generals such as Braxton Bragg, Henry L. Benning, and George Pickett during World War I and II expansions in the South. This practice stemmed from federal policy under Presidents Woodrow Wilson and Franklin D. Roosevelt to foster national unity by recognizing Southern contributions to the war effort, despite the bases' locations in former Confederate territories. By October 2023, all such bases had been redesignated—e.g., Fort Bragg became Fort Liberty, and Fort Benning became Fort Moore—pursuant to the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act mandating removal of Confederate commemorations from Department of Defense property. Geographic features and civic entities bear Confederate-derived names as well, including approximately 80 counties and municipalities across 11 states, such as Beauregard Parish in Louisiana and Lee County in multiple states. These designations, many originating in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, often honored local Confederate veterans or battles, embedding sectional memory into administrative structures; for example, over 100 streets in Richmond, Virginia, reference Confederate leaders like Jefferson Davis. Unlike statues, these names have proven more enduring due to bureaucratic inertia and legal hurdles in renaming, though some localities, such as New Orleans in 2017, have pursued changes through ordinances targeting public infrastructure.

Governmental and Symbolic Elements

Several U.S. state flags incorporate the saltire or St. Andrew's cross, a design element shared with the Confederate battle flag adopted in 1863. Alabama's flag, designed in 1894, features a crimson saltire on a white field, explicitly modeled after the battle flag to honor Confederate soldiers. Florida's flag, originating from 1900, similarly displays a red saltire with the state seal, drawing from the same heraldic tradition used in Confederate iconography. Multiple southern states designate official holidays commemorating Confederate figures or the war dead, often closing state offices and providing paid leave to employees. Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Mississippi observe Confederate Memorial Day as a full state holiday on dates in April, such as the fourth Monday in Alabama, Florida, and Georgia, or the last Monday in Mississippi, to honor those who died in Confederate service. Texas recognizes Confederate Heroes Day on January 19, coinciding with Jefferson Davis's birthday, as a state holiday established in 1973, during which state agencies close. North Carolina and South Carolina mark the occasion on May 10, the anniversary of Stonewall Jackson's death, with official observances though not always full closures. Certain states authorize specialty vehicle license plates featuring Confederate symbols through partnerships with heritage organizations. Tennessee issues plates for Sons of Confederate Veterans members displaying the group's emblem, which includes elements of the battle flag, with over 3,300 such plates in circulation as of 2018. Alabama similarly offers Sons of Confederate Veterans plates for private vehicles, trucks, and motorcycles. These plates generate revenue for the organizations while serving as official state-issued symbols of Confederate commemoration.

Private and International Memorials

Private Confederate memorials encompass statues, obelisks, markers, and dedicated cemeteries funded and maintained by non-governmental entities, such as the Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV) and United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC), typically situated on privately held land to evade public sector removal pressures. These sites often honor deceased soldiers through grave markers or collective monuments in family-owned or association-controlled cemeteries, with examples including the McGavock Confederate Cemetery in Franklin, Tennessee, which inters over 1,300 soldiers from the 1864 Battle of Franklin on what remains privately managed grounds. Similarly, Oak Woods Cemetery in Chicago contains the largest Confederate mass grave in the North, with 6,000 burials reinterred in 1897 by private efforts, featuring a monument erected by Southern women's groups. Recent trends reflect a shift toward private erection and relocation amid public monument controversies, including the 25-foot fiberglass Nathan Bedford Forrest statue installed on private farmland near Nashville, Tennessee, in 2019, visible from Interstate 65 and funded by private donors. The Robert E. Lee equestrian statue removed from Dallas in 2017 was auctioned for $1.435 million in 2019 and relocated to the private Black Jack's Crossing Golf Course. In Texas, the Confederate Memorial of the Wind, a granite obelisk dedicated in 2013 on ranch land, was raised through $50,000 in private contributions to commemorate soldiers without ties to slavery advocacy. The 2025 Valor Memorial park near Denton, North Carolina—a 1.5-acre private site—houses three relocated statues of unnamed Confederate soldiers, established by preservationists including Toni London to safeguard artifacts from 2020 protests, accompanied by a Confederate battle flag. Legal protections like conservation easements, as applied to the Turner Ashby monument in Virginia since 2017, further insulate such installations from alteration. Internationally, Confederate memorials are concentrated in Brazil, where 10,000 to 20,000 Southern emigrants—known as Confederados—settled in São Paulo state colonies like Americana and Santa Bárbara d'Oeste after 1865, drawn by Emperor Dom Pedro II's land offers and tolerance for slavery until its 1888 abolition. The Confederados Memorial in Americana, a stone obelisk, commemorates these pioneer families and their agricultural contributions, including cotton cultivation. In Santa Bárbara d'Oeste, the Cemitério dos Americanos serves as a private burial ground for early settlers, marked by Confederate flags and maintained by descendants through annual Festa dos Confederados events featuring reenactments and heritage displays. These sites preserve diaspora history, though recent Brazilian debates over symbols have prompted local bans on Confederate flags in public spaces, leaving private commemorations intact as of 2024. No significant Confederate memorials exist elsewhere abroad, reflecting the limited scale of post-war expatriation.

Controversies and Debates

Heritage Not Hate Perspective

The "Heritage, not Hate" perspective maintains that Confederate monuments primarily commemorate the sacrifices of Southern soldiers during the American Civil War, viewing them as symbols of familial ancestry, regional identity, and historical valor rather than endorsements of slavery or racial animosity. Proponents, including the Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV)—a historical organization founded in 1896 to perpetuate the legacy of Confederate service—argue that these memorials honor ordinary combatants who fought defensively against perceived Northern invasion, emphasizing motivations rooted in constitutional principles like states' rights and self-determination over economic or sectional disputes. The SCV explicitly condemns the appropriation of Confederate iconography by hate groups, positioning preservation efforts as a defense of patriotic heritage akin to memorials for other American wars, where the focus remains on the human cost of conflict rather than ideological causes. This viewpoint traces its modern articulation to the SCV's advocacy in the late , with the slogan "Heritage, not Hate" emerging as a counter to narratives linking symbols to , insisting that such associations conflate historical commemoration with contemporary prejudice. Advocates contend that many monuments, erected between 1890 and 1920 by groups like the , served to mourn wartime dead and foster national reconciliation, as evidenced by inscriptions dedicating them to "Confederate Dead" without explicit references to or secessionist ideology. They highlight that over 700 such memorials nationwide recognize soldiers as Americans who embodied virtues like courage and loyalty, drawing parallels to Union tributes and arguing that selective removal risks broader historical sanitization, potentially extending to figures like , who owned slaves. Critics of removal from this perspective warn that erasing monuments constitutes cultural erasure, depriving future generations of tangible links to the past and undermining free expression by allowing transient public opinion to dictate historical narrative. Some defenders, including descendants of enslaved people, echo this by asserting that confronting unflattering history through preservation promotes education and growth, citing examples like contextual plaques at sites such as Montpelier to provide balanced interpretation without physical destruction. The SCV frames opposition to removals as safeguarding democratic values, noting that Confederate soldiers' descendants—estimated at tens of millions—seek recognition of their forebears' service on par with other veterans, without implying moral equivalence to the war's outcomes.

Associations with White Supremacy Claims

Claims that Confederate monuments embody white supremacy often center on their erection during the Jim Crow era, when Southern states systematically disenfranchised Black citizens and enforced racial segregation following the collapse of Reconstruction in 1877. Approximately 75% of such monuments were dedicated between 1890 and 1920, a period marked by the Supreme Court's Plessy v. Ferguson decision in 1896 upholding "separate but equal" facilities, widespread voter suppression through poll taxes and literacy tests, and the paramilitary campaigns of groups like the Red Shirts that restored Democratic control in states such as South Carolina in 1876 and Mississippi in 1875. Historians interpret this timing as evidence that monuments served to consolidate white political power and signal racial hierarchy to Black communities amid rising disenfranchisement rates, with Black voter turnout in Southern states dropping from over 60% in 1867 to under 2% by 1900 in some areas. Empirical studies have identified correlations between monument prevalence and historical racial violence, particularly lynchings, which peaked from 1882 to 1930 with over 4,000 documented victims, predominantly Black men in the South. A 2021 analysis of U.S. counties found that each additional lynching was associated with 0.15 more Confederate memorials, controlling for factors like population and Civil War battle density, suggesting monuments reflected or reinforced local cultures of extrajudicial enforcement of white dominance. Similar patterns emerged in Virginia-specific data, where counties with higher lynching counts erected more symbols, interpreted as performative assertions of social control rather than mere historical commemoration. These associations are framed as backlash against perceived threats to white supremacy, such as during Reconstruction's brief interracial governance or the Nadir of race relations around 1900. The Lost Cause ideology, which romanticized the Confederacy as a defense of states' rights and constitutional principles while minimizing slavery's role as the war's cause, underpinned many memorial efforts. Originating in the 1860s through writings by figures like Edward Pollard and formalized by organizations such as the Southern Historical Society in 1869, it portrayed Confederate defeat as noble and inevitable due to Northern industrial superiority rather than moral failing over human bondage, which enslaved 3.9 million people by 1860. Groups like the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC), founded in 1894, erected hundreds of monuments to propagate this narrative, funding over 400 by World War I, often in public squares to embed a sanitized Southern identity in civic spaces. Dedications sometimes featured rhetoric linking Confederate valor to ongoing racial order, as in speeches invoking the "Southern way of life" amid disenfranchisement campaigns. While erecting bodies like the UDC explicitly stated aims of honoring deceased soldiers—claiming monuments provided "a place to pause and remember their lost loved ones" placed on courthouse squares for accessibility—these purposes coexisted with broader cultural reinforcement of hierarchy. UDC objectives included preserving Confederate artifacts and educating youth on "truthful history," but critics contend this obscured slavery's centrality, as Confederate vice president Alexander Stephens declared it the "immediate cause" of secession in 1861. Monument inscriptions rarely referenced supremacy directly, focusing on themes like "duty" or "our heroes," yet their public placement during segregation's entrenchment lent symbolic weight to exclusionary norms. Alternative explanations attribute the erection surge to dying veterans' pushes for recognition, paralleling Union monument trends, though Southern volumes exceeded Northern ones proportionally. Modern appropriations by white supremacist groups, such as the Ku Klux Klan's use of Confederate imagery in 1920s rallies or the 2017 Unite the Right gathering at Charlottesville's Robert E. Lee statue, have amplified perceptions of inherent association, though such events postdate most dedications. County-level data showing persistent correlations between monuments and contemporary racial resentment metrics, like opposition to affirmative action, suggest enduring symbolic effects, but causal direction remains interpretive—whether monuments foster attitudes or merely mark preexisting ones. These claims persist despite variances, as generic soldier statues (over 700 identified) differ from leader-specific ones in explicit ideology, challenging blanket supremacist labeling.

Public Opinion and Polling Data

Public opinion on Confederate monuments remains divided, with polls revealing sharp partisan, racial, and regional differences that have persisted despite shifts following high-profile events such as the 2017 Charlottesville rally and the 2020 protests. Support for removal surged in 2020 amid broader discussions of racial justice, but recent surveys indicate stabilization, with a slim overall favoring preservation of Confederate history in some form. Early polling, such as the August 2017 NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist survey of 1,125 adults, found 62% of respondents believed Confederate statues should remain as historical symbols, 27% favored removal due to offensiveness, and 11% were unsure; breakdowns showed 67% of whites and 65% of Latinos supporting retention. By contrast, a June 2020 Quinnipiac University national poll of registered voters reported 52% support for removing statues from public spaces (up 13 points from 39% opposition in prior surveys), with 44% opposed; Democrats favored removal by 84-13%, while Republicans opposed it 82-15%. More recent data from the Public Religion Research Institute's March 2024 survey of 5,784 adults across all states showed 52% overall support for preserving the Confederacy's legacy through public memorials (44% opposed), with Southern respondents at 58% supportive compared to 50% elsewhere. Specific options for existing monuments included 26% favoring leaving them as-is, 35% adding contextual information, 28% relocating to museums, and 9% destruction; Republicans backed preservation at 81% (47% as-is), Democrats at 30% (46% to museums), whites leaned toward contextualization (38%) or as-is (30%), and Black Americans toward museums (39%) or destruction (25%). Regional polls echo national divides. A 2021 Elon University survey of 1,499 North Carolina residents found 65% believed monuments should remain on public property, though 53% of those aged 18-34 favored removal. A December 2020 AP-NORC poll in Virginia showed near-even splits, with 49% supporting removal and 42% opposing, citing history as a key rationale for retention. These patterns highlight consistent racial gaps—whites more likely to view monuments as historical artifacts—and partisan polarization, with Republican support for retention often exceeding 80% in breakdowns.
Poll OrganizationDateKey ResultsSample SizeSource
NPR/PBS/MaristAug 201762% keep as historical symbols; 27% remove1,125 adults
Quinnipiac UniversityJun 202052% support removal from public spaces; 44% opposeRegistered voters (national)
PRRIMar 202452% support preserving legacy; 26% leave as-is, 9% destroy5,784 adults
Elon University (NC)Apr 202165% keep on public property1,499 residents

Cultural and Historical Significance Disputes

![Chart of Confederate monuments established by year][float-right] The cultural and historical significance of Confederate monuments remains contested, with interpretations dividing between those viewing them as tributes to the valor and sacrifices of Confederate soldiers irrespective of the war's causes, and others regarding them as endorsements of a political ideology rooted in the defense of slavery and subsequent assertions of white supremacy. Proponents of preservation often emphasize the monuments' role in commemorating military service and regional heritage, arguing that the average Confederate soldier fought for home defense or states' rights rather than slavery, given that most were non-slaveholders from agrarian backgrounds. This perspective posits the structures as neutral memorials akin to those for Union forces, fostering post-war reconciliation and honoring the dead without endorsing secession. Critics counter that the monuments' timing, placement, and iconography reveal intentions beyond mere soldier commemoration, aligning instead with the "Lost Cause" narrative—a post-war interpretation that romanticized the Confederacy as a noble, chivalric endeavor defeated by overwhelming Northern aggression, while minimizing slavery's centrality to the conflict. Empirical data on erection dates supports this view: while a small number of monuments (fewer than 20 documented) appeared immediately after the Civil War (1865–1870s), primarily in cemeteries to mark graves, the vast majority—over 700 public symbols—were dedicated between 1900 and the 1920s, coinciding with the height of Jim Crow segregation laws and the rise of organizations like the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC), which funded many installations to instill Lost Cause ideals in public memory. A secondary surge occurred in the 1950s–1960s, paralleling resistance to federal civil rights enforcement, such as Brown v. Board of Education (1954), suggesting reactive political messaging rather than organic historical reflection. Further evidence of ideological intent emerges from dedication ceremonies and contemporaneous records, where speakers frequently invoked themes of racial hierarchy and Southern vindication; for instance, monuments often featured generals like Robert E. Lee, whose pre-war writings and military leadership explicitly supported slavery's preservation, rather than anonymous soldiers. Quantitative analyses link monument prevalence to areas with higher historical lynching rates, implying a role in signaling social control and deterring Black advancement during eras of racial tension. The Lost Cause framework, propagated through UDC textbooks and memorials, portrayed the Confederacy's defeat as a tragic loss of constitutional liberties, obscuring secession declarations that explicitly cited slavery's protection as the primary grievance, as articulated in Confederate Vice President Alexander Stephens' 1861 Cornerstone Speech. These disputes extend to cultural implications, where defenders argue removal erases Southern history and equates commemoration with endorsement of evil, potentially fueling division, while opponents maintain contextualization or relocation better preserves factual history without perpetuating myths that downplay slavery's causal role—evidenced by the Confederacy's constitutional bans on non-slaveholding states and wartime reliance on enslaved labor for military logistics. Historians note that early battlefield markers (1860s–1880s) focused on tactical events, but public civic monuments shifted toward heroic Confederate leadership, reflecting evolving narratives shaped by elite Southern interests rather than grassroots veteran sentiment. Ultimately, the contention underscores broader tensions in American historical memory, where empirical timelines and primary sources challenge apolitical interpretations, revealing monuments as active participants in constructing racial and regional identities post-Reconstruction.

Challenges and Removals

Pre-2015 Removals and Vandalism

Prior to 2015, removals of Confederate monuments were exceedingly rare, with documented cases limited primarily to relocations prompted by practical considerations such as urban development or accidental damage rather than organized campaigns against their historical commemoration. According to analysis of Southern monument records, only three such instances occurred before 2015: in Greenville, South Carolina (1923), East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana (2012), and Reidsville, North Carolina (2012). These events contrasted sharply with the surge in ideological-driven removals after 2015, reflecting a period when public spaces generally preserved such memorials without significant challenge. In Greenville, the Confederate monument, erected in 1908 at a downtown intersection, was relocated in 1922–1923 to a cemetery following city council decisions tied to traffic improvements and urban expansion. The move sparked lawsuits from monument custodians, including the United Daughters of the Confederacy, who argued it violated property rights, but South Carolina courts upheld the relocation as a valid exercise of municipal authority over public spaces. The statue was reinstalled at Springwood Cemetery, preserving its commemorative intent without destruction or erasure. The 2012 relocation in East Baton Rouge Parish involved the "Silent Sentinel" statue, a 1904 obelisk honoring Confederate dead, which was dismantled from its downtown site to facilitate construction of North Boulevard Town Square. Officials stored and later displayed it at the Old State Capitol Museum, citing logistical needs over symbolic protest; the action proceeded with negligible public opposition or media attention. In Reidsville, a 1912 monument was toppled in May 2011 by a vehicle collision, prompting community debate over repair and relocation. While initial discussions considered moving it from its downtown position, legal and public processes ultimately led to its replacement with a similar statue at the original site by 2013, after court dismissal of challenges under North Carolina law. This incident highlighted localized tensions but did not result in permanent removal. Vandalism against Confederate monuments before 2015 was sporadic and typically isolated, often involving graffiti or minor defacement without prompting widespread policy changes or removals. For instance, the Nathan Bedford Forrest equestrian statue in Memphis, Tennessee—erected in 1904—endured repeated acts of vandalism, including thrown paint and epithets, over preceding decades, yet local authorities maintained it in place amid ongoing maintenance. Such incidents underscored persistent but fringe opposition, lacking the coordinated momentum seen post-2015, and rarely escalated beyond cleanup efforts.

2015-2020 Surge: Triggers and Scale

The surge in challenges and removals of Confederate monuments from 2015 to 2020 was precipitated by high-profile incidents framed by activists and media as linking Confederate symbols to racial violence. On June 17, 2015, Dylann Roof murdered nine African American parishioners at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina; Roof had previously displayed the Confederate battle flag in photographs, prompting widespread demands to remove such symbols as endorsements of white supremacy. This event led to the swift removal of the Confederate battle flag from the South Carolina State House grounds on July 10, 2015, by legislative action, marking an initial catalyst that shifted public and governmental focus toward broader monument reevaluations. A secondary escalation occurred following the August 12, 2017, Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, organized to oppose the city's planned removal of a Robert E. Lee equestrian statue. Clashes between rally participants—many displaying Confederate iconography—and counter-protesters resulted in the death of Heather Heyer and injuries to dozens, amplifying national media coverage and legislative pressures for removals. In the immediate aftermath, cities like Durham, North Carolina, saw spontaneous toppling of monuments by protesters, while state and local governments accelerated formal processes, with Virginia enacting a law in 2017 allowing contextual relocations under specific conditions. The period's peak intensity arrived in 2020 amid protests following the May 25 death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody, which protesters and advocacy groups connected to systemic racism, including historical Confederate commemorations. Nationwide demonstrations, often involving vandalism or unauthorized topplings, pressured municipalities to act rapidly; for instance, over 100 symbols were removed or announced for removal within weeks of Floyd's death, with many occurring under emergency conditions or mob actions later ratified by officials. This wave reflected causal dynamics where opportunistic activism leveraged civil unrest to advance long-standing removal campaigns, distinct from prior deliberative processes. In scale, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC)—an advocacy organization tracking such symbols—reported 54 Confederate monuments removed from 2015 through 2019, followed by 94 in 2020 alone, totaling 148 monuments over the period; broader symbol removals (including flags and markers) reached 168 in 2020. Independent tallies corroborated this uptick: by mid-2018, at least 110 monuments and tributes had been removed since the Charleston shooting, with the majority post-2020 concentrated in Southern states like Virginia (leading with dozens relocated or removed). By June 2020, over 140 public-land monuments had been taken down since 2015, approximately two-thirds in the preceding month amid Floyd-related unrest, though precise counts vary due to differing definitions of "removal" (e.g., toppling versus relocation). These figures, while empirically derived, originate from sources with interpretive biases favoring removal narratives, yet align across outlets like The Washington Post and ABC News.

Post-2020 Trends and Slowdown

Following the unprecedented surge in removals during 2020, triggered by nationwide protests after the death of George Floyd, the rate of Confederate monument and memorial removals declined markedly in subsequent years. In 2021, 73 Confederate monuments were removed or renamed, a sharp drop from the 94 monuments dismantled in 2020 alone. By 2022, the number fell further to 48 removals of Confederate memorials. Data compiled by the Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks Confederate symbols but has faced criticism for its expansive definitions of such iconography, indicate that the pace slowed even more after 2022, with cumulative removals since 2020 exceeding 300 monuments nationwide. As of 2025, over 700 Confederate monuments remained in public spaces, reflecting a stabilization after the initial wave. This slowdown stemmed primarily from legislative responses in several states, where Republican-led assemblies enacted or strengthened laws to restrict removals and preserve historical markers. For instance, Arkansas passed legislation in 2021 prohibiting the removal of monuments like the one in Fort Smith, overriding local authority. Similar protections were reinforced in Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas, with Florida advancing bills in 2024 to ban alterations of longstanding public statues, markers, and flags. These measures, often justified as safeguarding history from vandalism or political erasure, created legal barriers that halted or delayed municipal efforts. Ongoing court challenges and procedural hurdles compounded the trend, as lawsuits invoking property rights, historical preservation statutes, and free speech arguments prolonged disputes over specific sites. In states without such protections, like Virginia, removals continued sporadically—such as the dismantling of major Richmond statues in 2021—but faced opposition and reversals under changing administrations. Overall, the diminished momentum aligned with waning protest activity and shifting political priorities post-2021, though isolated removals persisted amid local debates. Several U.S. states have enacted laws specifically designed to restrict the removal, relocation, or alteration of historical monuments, including those honoring Confederate figures or causes, often requiring supermajority legislative approval or oversight by state historical commissions. Alabama's Memorial Preservation Act of 2017 prohibits counties, municipalities, and other local entities from removing or altering public monuments erected more than 40 years prior without approval from the state Joint Legislative Committee on the Preservation of Monuments to the Confederacy and Alabama's Historical Figures. North Carolina's 2015 Cultural History Artifact Management and Patriotism Act similarly mandates a three-fifths vote in the General Assembly to relocate or remove monuments designated as historical artifacts, a threshold that has preserved several Confederate memorials despite local opposition. Georgia's longstanding statutes, reinforced in recent years, impose penalties for unauthorized alterations and have been invoked in lawsuits seeking damages for removals, as seen in cases before the Georgia Supreme Court in 2022 involving monuments in Henry and Newton Counties. Texas law, amended in 2017, classifies monuments over 50 years old as part of the state's historical collection, necessitating review by the Texas Historical Commission before any changes, a process that has delayed or blocked several proposed removals. These protections, enacted largely by Republican-led legislatures amid rising removal pressures post-2015, aim to safeguard sites as public history rather than endorsing the Confederacy's ideology, though critics argue they entrench divisive symbols. At least six Southern states maintain such policies as of 2023, contributing to lower removal rates in protected jurisdictions compared to states without them. Preservation efforts have included litigation by heritage organizations like the Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV), which has pursued court challenges to block removals and condemn executive actions bypassing statutes, such as in North Carolina where it criticized Governor Roy Cooper's 2020 orders. In 2024, a North Carolina appeals court upheld a ruling preserving a Confederate obelisk outside a Sampson County courthouse, rejecting claims that its presence violated the state constitution, while the state Supreme Court simultaneously dismissed a separate suit over Asheville's 2021 removal, illustrating inconsistent judicial outcomes. The SCV, as the heir to the United Confederate Veterans founded in 1896, coordinates legal defenses, public advocacy, and collaborations with other groups to maintain monuments as tributes to Confederate soldiers, emphasizing historical commemoration over political symbolism. Virginia's repeal of its 1904 prohibition in March 2020 enabled more local removals but also spurred counter-efforts, including federal lawsuits over Arlington National Cemetery's Confederate Memorial, where preservationists argued for its retention as a gravesite marker under historic preservation standards.

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